Even in the midst of global COVID-19 crisis uncertainties, Nikola Motor has continued pushing forward on some ambitions plans.
So far this year, the hydrogen fuel cell truck startup based in Phoenix expanded its original plan of producing fleets of fuel cell big rigs to include the production of electric pickups. In February, Nikola said it will produce its Tre model, a battery-electric heavy-duty truck, in an Iveco commercial vehicle plant in Ulm, Germany. That plan comes with CNH Industrial, the European parent company of Iveco, taking a $250 million stake in Nikola.
And in March, Nikola founder and CEO Trevor Milton executed a merger with VectoIQ Acquisition Corp., the investment company formed by former General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky. That deal valued Nikola at $3.3 billion and will infuse the venture with $525 million in new capital.
The new arrangement will result in Nikola being a publicly traded company.
“Being listed on the Nasdaq was a dream of mine,” Milton told investors in March, “and with the greatest shareholder list anyone could ever ask for, we are poised to make it a reality.”
Despite the rich flow of investment, Nikola applied for and received a $4 million Paycheck Protection Program loan to see it through the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic. The company sought the funds to keep its approximately 300 employees working on its product plans.
After facing some backlash, Milton told CNBC that he did not plan to pay back the funds, but days later, the company tweeted that it was repaying the money “so other businesses can survive.”
The company boasts 14,000 preorders of its semitrucks, including the Class 8 Nikola One and Nikola Two.
The move into electric pickups with a concept called the Nikola Badger pits the Arizona company against Tesla and Rivian, both of which intend to produce such vehicles.
Unclear at the moment is whether the widespread industry disruption from the coronavirus will impact Nikola’s intention to launch vehicle production this calendar year.