NKLA - Nikola

[Foreign Tuffett]

 

My favorite part of this whole saga is the solar panels on top of the HQ building. Apparently they don't exist? If they did exist then surely Nikola would have mentioned them in its response -- the obvious thing to do would have been to send someone up to the roof to photograph them. What a ridiculous, bald-faced lie to be caught in.

 

And what a stupid thing to lie about.  If you will lie about what is on the outside on the roof of your building that anyone can see, what are you lying about what goes on inside that people can't as easily see?

 

How about this one?

 

Per this old press release the company used to own "[natural] gas wells." The initial short report also has a link to at least one other mention of these NG wells, so it's not like this was some kind of typo.

 

https://nikolamotor.com/press_releases/nikola-motor-company-begins-taking-reservations-for-revolutionary-electric-semi-truck-24

 

But this was also apparently a total lie, as company hasn't mentioned these mystery natural gas wells since around the time it pivoted to hydrogen. I don't see any reference to them in the SEC filings either.

 

If NKLA ever really owned these then, to rebut Hindenburg, it could have written something like 'We had a X% non-operating working interest in X number of natural gas wells in the X basin, but sold these interests at X date and time for X proceeds for X reason.' That would have been a very simple and effective rebuttal, so the fact that the company didn't mention this allegation at all this speaks volumes.

 

 

[wescobrk]

I bought a lot more in after hours at 30.53.

I think a fine or slap on the wrist.

Very very low probability event the company goes to zero after GM DD, Value Act, Blackrock, etc went over this.

[Seth Lowry]

If Hindenburg thinks this is a fraud wait until they hear about shale or certain software tech.

 

GM really outdid everyone in looking crazy with the airtaxi comments though

 

Right or wrong and hate to say it, in today's world as long as they get a reasonable product out the door the SEC won't capitulate the company and risk jobs.

 

I also don't like the fact the activist short sellers seemingly command SEC enforcement around (a public resource) to benefit their interest. Especially considering how underfunded they are.

 

Am I off base on any of this?

 

[TwoCitiesCapital]

If Hindenburg thinks this is a fraud wait until they hear about shale or certain software tech.

 

GM really outdid everyone in looking crazy with the airtaxi comments though

 

Right or wrong and hate to say it, in today's world as long as they get a reasonable product out the door the SEC won't capitulate the company and risk jobs.

 

I also don't like the fact the activist short sellers seemingly command SEC enforcement around (a public resource) to benefit their interest. Especially considering how underfunded they are.

 

Am I off base on any of this?

 

Depends. Maybe the jobs argument stands for a company like Tesla, but Nikola only has like 200-300 employess, right? That's not many - certainly not thousands like most other publicly traded corps. I dont' think that's enough jobs to hide a multibillion dollar fraud behind with a wrist slap.

[Foreign Tuffett]

I bought a lot more in after hours at 30.53.

I think a fine or slap on the wrist.

Very very low probability event the company goes to zero after GM DD, Value Act, Blackrock, etc went over this.

 

Can you define "Very very low probability" for me? And how does something not being a zero make it a good investment. At $30 share price the market cap here is something like $11.5 billion

 

 

From your post on the TSLA thread:

 

"I'm not a fan of the CEO, he seems like a marketing guy and not a business person, but that isn't enough to kill the company."

 

You realize Trevor Milton isn't the CEO anymore, right? He is the Executive Chairman.

 

 

Also, GM hasn't "thrown billions at this company." It is actually almost the exact opposite.

 

 

 

 

[Guest cherzeca]

looks awful for GM.  either they bail, and look awful, or they stay and look (worse than) awful.

[Gregmal]

looks awful for GM.  either they bail, and look awful, or they stay and look (worse than) awful.

 

BBBBUT! They got something for nothing!

 

Never a free lunch. Looks like they got had for publicity, resources, and labor....They'd be lucky, if even able, to unload their entire stake for 50c on the dollar tomorrow. The beauty of these SPAC deals for the smaller investor is the strategically placed shares/ownership structure. Creates a very tight float and thats why you see these crazy blastoffs on occasion(or recently, like every other day). But for GM, good luck unloading anywhere in the universe of current bid.

[Libs]

Watching those Sam Alexander videos is interesting. Milton is such a transparent huckster.....all the way up to the shifty eyes when lying.

 

Financial Times is reporting the DOJ is now investigating.

[UK]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-15/nikola-director-ubben-says-startup-skeptics-too-focused-on-past

[fareastwarriors]

Nikola short-sellers feel the squeeze as stock bounces

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nikola-stocks/nikola-short-sellers-feel-the-squeeze-as-stock-bounces-idUSKBN26738B

[Gamecock-YT]

 

BREAKING: FreightWaves reporting "Trevor Milton has resigned as Executive Chairman of Nikola Motors (NASDAQ: NKLA) and has departed the company effective immediately."

[fareastwarriors]

 

BREAKING: FreightWaves reporting "Trevor Milton has resigned as Executive Chairman of Nikola Motors (NASDAQ: NKLA) and has departed the company effective immediately."

 

Nikola founder Trevor Milton to voluntarily step down as executive chairman

 

Nikola announced early Monday that founder Trevor Milton is voluntarily stepping down from his roles as executive chairman and a member of its board.

 

The announcement comes after short-selling firm Hindenburg Research accused Nikola of fraud. The company pushed back on the accusations, saying there were “dozens” of inaccurate allegations in the report.

 

In an early Monday tweet, Milton said, “I intend to defend myself against false allegations leveled against me by outside detractors.

 

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/21/nikola-founder-trevor-milton-to-voluntarily-step-down-as-executive-chairman.html

[Ballinvarosig Investors]

I am going to call this one, Nikola is finished.

 

The optics just look dreadful. When the short report came out last week, Milton claimed it was completely false and that he would vigorously defend against the allegations. One week later, it's shown that the short report was largely correct, and now Milton resigns with immediate effect. Milton might claim that it his exit was voluntary, but I do not see how that is possible. Founders with a 25% stake in the company generally don't just walk away a week after a damning short report, they stand their ground and fight. It's clear that the board have met (and decided over the weekend which is extraordinary), found gross misconduct on Milton's behalf, and have taken action and forced him out. My guess is that they have found other bodies hidden in the closet, perhaps we shall hear about these more in the coming weeks. There is never just one cockroach.

 

With Milton out and the company now totally laid bare as little more than a shady business proposal, I do not see where Nikola goes from here. While Milton was a phony, sometimes with this type of company, you need someone with the cojones to brazen things out (Tesla the obvious classical example). Who with vision is going to be able to lead this thing going forward, especially now that it is tainted? The scale of what Nikola want to do is huge and the cash on hand is nowhere near enough to fulfil that. They won't be able to finance anything, and I seriously doubt that anyone is going to want to get involved in any new shares. For all the talk of GM, they are not putting any money into this deal. If the company wants to execute on their vision, then they have to ramp up and accelerate their quarterly losses (cash on hand is $700m, current quarterly operating loss is $87m and rising rapidly). To continue to ramp up, they will need a LOT of new capital. Again, I ask who is going to touch this thing now?

 

Marc Cohodes once described shorting timing as waiting for someone to shoot the jaguar out of the tree before going to work on it. Well, the way this jaguar has fallen out of the tree, it's broken its neck and is already bleeding out of several arteries.

[Ballinvarosig Investors]

I wonder is this the skeleton?

 

[JRM]

I think it all depends if GM bails or not at this point.  Nikola is basically just a public relations\marketing firm. 

[Broeb22]

And their "head of PR/marketing" aka Milton just resigned.

[Foreign Tuffett]

o

I think it all depends if GM bails or not at this point.  Nikola is basically just a public relations\marketing firm.

 

Just touching on a few thots, in no particular order:

 

* IB has no shares available to borrow. I wouldn't advise trying to pile in on the short side right now. I actually covered my short when I saw that GM isn't backing out of deal.

 

* Keep in mind that, while NKLA is a total dumpster fire of a "company", it probably has over $900 million in cash on the books so it isn't going bankrupt immediately or anything like that.

 

* I tried to short WOR (still owns over 7 million NKLA shares) on the open, but my order didn't fill

[blainehodder]

Reminder that the market cap is still 10B for essentially a powerpoint and some design mock-ups. They might have 900M in cash (which is being set on fire), but 900M falls far short of the market cap here and the business is worthless.

[fareastwarriors]

Nikola founder Trevor Milton forfeits $166 million in stock he would have lost any way and gets to keep $3.1 billion under separation deal

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/21/nikola-founder-trevor-milton-forfeits-166-million-in-stock-and-gets-to-keep-3point1-billion-under-separation-deal.html

[TwoCitiesCapital]

Nikola founder Trevor Milton forfeits $166 million in stock he would have lost any way and gets to keep $3.1 billion under separation deal

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/21/nikola-founder-trevor-milton-forfeits-166-million-in-stock-and-gets-to-keep-3point1-billion-under-separation-deal.html

 

Justice served?

 

SMDH

[rb]

The value of his exit package will vary over time as the start-up’s shares have swung wildly since it went public on June 4. The agreement requires Milton to give up roughly 4.9 million in restricted, performance-based shares valued at $166 million as of Friday’s closing price of $34.19 a share while allowing him to walk away with more than 91.6 million shares that appear to be free of any restrictions and were worth over $3.1 billion.

 

Lol! Watch him dump that stock at any price.

[Guest roark33]

I am involved in this short side, so take my comments with that bias in mind. 

 

I can't predict timing on this one, but there is serious fraud behind the scenes and Girsky is just starting to realize the extent of the fraud. 

 

You basically have a target date of Nov. 30, when the lock-up expires for regulators to act at this point. 

 

Nikola has no tech and was essentially trying to fake it until they could make it.  The GM deal actually sealed their fate because it revealed that their tech at the battery and fuel cell level was not even there. 

 

The FT and WSJ both had articles this weekend describes Nikola's use of Romeo batteries, despite years of Trevor claiming in-house tech. 

 

This is a good thread talking about Nikola's problems:

 

 

And yes, that account is from a former "insider" at Nikola, so he knows where all the bodies are buried. 

 

This is a career case for any DOJ prosecutor and I seriously doubt they let this opportunity go to waste to save "mom and pop" investors. 

 

The short side right now is hard because there are very few shares publicly available, given insiders own over 70% of the company and can't sell until Nov. 30. 

 

I doubt the regulators allow Trevor to sell his shares on Dec. 3 (when his lock-up expires), I expect some action before then. 

 

 

[arcube]

Girsky is fully part of this fraud. He bought GM to this to legitimize NKLA.

 

I am involved in this short side, so take my comments with that bias in mind. 

 

I can't predict timing on this one, but there is serious fraud behind the scenes and Girsky is just starting to realize the extent of the fraud. 

 

You basically have a target date of Nov. 30, when the lock-up expires for regulators to act at this point. 

 

Nikola has no tech and was essentially trying to fake it until they could make it.  The GM deal actually sealed their fate because it revealed that their tech at the battery and fuel cell level was not even there. 

 

The FT and WSJ both had articles this weekend describes Nikola's use of Romeo batteries, despite years of Trevor claiming in-house tech. 

 

This is a good thread talking about Nikola's problems:

 

 

And yes, that account is from a former "insider" at Nikola, so he knows where all the bodies are buried. 

 

This is a career case for any DOJ prosecutor and I seriously doubt they let this opportunity go to waste to save "mom and pop" investors. 

 

The short side right now is hard because there are very few shares publicly available, given insiders own over 70% of the company and can't sell until Nov. 30. 

 

I doubt the regulators allow Trevor to sell his shares on Dec. 3 (when his lock-up expires), I expect some action before then.

[rb]

I am involved in this short side, so take my comments with that bias in mind. 

 

I can't predict timing on this one, but there is serious fraud behind the scenes and Girsky is just starting to realize the extent of the fraud. 

 

You basically have a target date of Nov. 30, when the lock-up expires for regulators to act at this point. 

 

Nikola has no tech and was essentially trying to fake it until they could make it.  The GM deal actually sealed their fate because it revealed that their tech at the battery and fuel cell level was not even there. 

 

The FT and WSJ both had articles this weekend describes Nikola's use of Romeo batteries, despite years of Trevor claiming in-house tech. 

 

This is a good thread talking about Nikola's problems:

 

 

And yes, that account is from a former "insider" at Nikola, so he knows where all the bodies are buried. 

 

This is a career case for any DOJ prosecutor and I seriously doubt they let this opportunity go to waste to save "mom and pop" investors. 

 

The short side right now is hard because there are very few shares publicly available, given insiders own over 70% of the company and can't sell until Nov. 30. 

 

I doubt the regulators allow Trevor to sell his shares on Dec. 3 (when his lock-up expires), I expect some action before then.

I don't doubt your position, but I think you may be disappointed.

 

The behavior that Nikola has engaged in pretty much standard behaviour now. The regulators didn't do anything about it. Why do you think they'll start now with Nikola?

 

What I'm really surprised at is the lack of DD from GM on this. Don't they have an army of lawyers? This has serious egg on face potential for GM. Bara is probably looking to kill someone right about now.

[Gregmal]

I am involved in this short side, so take my comments with that bias in mind. 

 

I can't predict timing on this one, but there is serious fraud behind the scenes and Girsky is just starting to realize the extent of the fraud. 

 

You basically have a target date of Nov. 30, when the lock-up expires for regulators to act at this point. 

 

Nikola has no tech and was essentially trying to fake it until they could make it.  The GM deal actually sealed their fate because it revealed that their tech at the battery and fuel cell level was not even there. 

 

The FT and WSJ both had articles this weekend describes Nikola's use of Romeo batteries, despite years of Trevor claiming in-house tech. 

 

This is a good thread talking about Nikola's problems:

 

 

And yes, that account is from a former "insider" at Nikola, so he knows where all the bodies are buried. 

 

This is a career case for any DOJ prosecutor and I seriously doubt they let this opportunity go to waste to save "mom and pop" investors. 

 

The short side right now is hard because there are very few shares publicly available, given insiders own over 70% of the company and can't sell until Nov. 30. 

 

I doubt the regulators allow Trevor to sell his shares on Dec. 3 (when his lock-up expires), I expect some action before then.

I don't doubt your position, but I think you may be disappointed.

 

The behavior that Nikola has engaged in pretty much standard behaviour now. The regulators didn't do anything about it. Why do you think they'll start now with Nikola?

 

What I'm really surprised at is the lack of DD from GM on this. Don't they have an army of lawyers? This has serious egg on face potential for GM. Bara is probably looking to kill someone right about now.

 

Na bro. They got something for nothing. Great deal! It is not surprising at all. GM is a company chasing its tail and controlled by the labor unions.