The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday moved to dismiss its case against Trevor Milton, founder and former CEO of Nikola Corp., a maker of electric and hydrogen-powered trucks.
The 2021 case alleged Milton had misrepresented the company’s technology, claiming Nikola had built an electric- and hydrogen-powered pickup from scratch and developed batteries in-house, when in fact they were sourced externally. In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the SEC said it “believes dismissing the case is appropriate.”
Milton, who received a pardon from former U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year, also waived his right to seek legal costs and released all claims against the agency, according to the court document.
Nikola’s stock fell sharply after short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the company in 2020 of misleading investors about its technological progress, including a video showing its electric truck moving under its own power, which Hindenburg said was staged by rolling the vehicle down a hill.
Milton resigned from Nikola shortly after the report and was convicted in October 2022 on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud. In 2023, a jury found him guilty of misleading investors about the company’s technology, resulting in a four-year prison sentence.
In February, Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to sell its assets, becoming the latest U.S. electric vehicle maker to face financial distress.
