Nikola Hydrogen Truck Fraud: Staging a Downhill Roll as a Driving Video and Falsely Claiming Imminent Mass Production

Who Gets Targeted

The victims primarily include institutional investors in the new energy sector, retail investors in the secondary market, and industrial capital seeking benchmarks for the hydrogen transition. These investors often possess a high risk appetite, are easily swayed by grand narratives like 'the next Tesla' or 'hydrogen truck mass production is imminent,' and lack the due diligence capabilities to verify heavy-duty truck engineering and hydrogen fuel system performance. Some retail investors bought in with a short-term speculative mindset, ignoring short-seller reports and technical flaws, ultimately suffering significant losses when the company admitted to fraud and its stock price plummeted.

骗局怎么运作

• The founding team claimed to have mastered core hydrogen truck technology and used media hype, strategic partnerships, and IPO roadshows to cultivate a 'Tesla of the trucking industry' image, attracting early investors and industrial partners to create a public perception of technological leadership.
• To prove the vehicle was functional, the team towed a static Nikola One truck to a gentle slope, released the brakes to let it roll down, and edited the footage into a 'normal driving' video, which was then disseminated through official channels and media to reinforce the illusion that the product had rolled off the assembly line.
• Promotional materials framed the rolling footage as real-world road tests or pre-production validation, combined with claims of 'thousands of orders' and 'imminent factory production' to convince investors that mass production and delivery were just around the corner.
• In 2020, short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report alleging video fraud, exaggerated orders, and technical inaccuracies. Subsequently, internal whistleblowers and external investigations intervened, forcing the company to admit to certain misleading claims.
• The founder was indicted by U.S. prosecutors on charges including securities fraud. The company's stock price collapsed, leading toward bankruptcy liquidation, while investors and partners like General Motors suffered massive losses.
• Under pressure from courts and regulators, the company gradually admitted to the issues. The founder was eventually convicted, and Nikola filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming a landmark fraud case in the new energy vehicle industry.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 The promotional video showed no signs of acceleration, exhaust, or steering maneuvers, with camera angles and scene cuts deliberately avoiding details of the powertrain.
• 🚩 The company repeatedly emphasized 'order volume' or 'pre-orders' rather than actual delivery numbers, with many order parties being related entities or entities lacking substantive purchasing power.
• 🚩 Technical demonstrations were not verified by independent third-party engineers or media on-site; core parameters were released unilaterally by the company.
• 🚩 The founder frequently made aggressive statements on social media, disparaging competitors and promising short-term milestones without verifiable engineering evidence.
• 🚩 After the IPO, key executives and early shareholders continuously reduced their holdings, while the company repeatedly raised funds through secondary offerings and convertible bonds, showing a severe mismatch between cash flow and revenue.

真实案例

• In 2016, Nikola released the Nikola One hydrogen truck concept, claiming a range of 800 to 1,200 miles, but it was later revealed to be a static model without a complete powertrain, and the relevant video was filmed while rolling downhill.
• In September 2020, short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report pointing out that Nikola towed a truck up a slope and let it roll down for an advertisement, while exaggerating orders and technical maturity; the report caused a sharp single-day drop in stock price.
• In October 2022, a U.S. federal jury convicted founder Trevor Milton on three counts of fraud, including securities fraud and wire fraud; he was sentenced to four years in prison in December 2023. (Source: https://nev.ofweek.com/2025-02/ART-71000-8470-30657804.html)
• In February 2025, Nikola officially filed for bankruptcy protection and planned to liquidate assets. Previously, General Motors had announced a $2 billion investment in 2020 to partner on engineering and manufacturing, but the deal ultimately shrank and failed to meet expectations. (Source: https://chedongxi.com/p/235277.html)
• In February 2025, Nikola filed for bankruptcy protection in an Arizona court. Filings showed the company had only about $47 million in cash remaining, with over $1 billion in outstanding debt and more than 1,000 creditors; the founder had previously been convicted of fraud by a New York federal jury and sentenced to prison. (Source: https://nev.ofweek.com/2025-02/ART-71000-8470-30657804.html)
• In June 2020, after Nikola went public on the NASDAQ, its stock price soared, exceeding $95 at its peak with a market cap nearing $32 billion, briefly surpassing Ford Motor Company; however, the vehicle was exposed as a static model and the promotional video was filmed while rolling downhill, leading to a sharp single-day stock price drop following a short-seller report. (Source: https://chedongxi.com/p/235277.html)

Official Stance

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into Nikola in 2021 and eventually filed charges, alleging that the company made material false statements regarding its products, technical progress, and orders.
• The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed criminal charges against founder Trevor Milton in 2021, alleging that he lied about 'nearly all aspects of the business.'
• In October 2022, a jury convicted Milton on three counts of fraud, and in December 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced him to four years in prison and imposed fines.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ For claims of 'imminent mass production' or 'secured orders' by new energy vehicle companies, demand independently verifiable delivery records and third-party engineering test reports.
• ✅ Focus on actual road test videos of vehicles, paying close attention to real-world operating conditions such as acceleration, steering, braking, and hill climbing, to avoid being misled by single-scene promotional clips.
• ✅ Examine the alignment between R&D expenditures, capital expenditures, and revenue in company financial reports; be wary of targets that have no long-term revenue but continue to raise funds while executives reduce holdings.
• ✅ Cross-reference company announcements with reports from short-sellers, industry analysts, and former employees, especially regarding doubts about technical feasibility and the authenticity of orders.
• ✅ When investing in emerging sectors like hydrogen, require core component supply contracts, vehicle announcement catalogs, and regulatory certification documents to avoid betting solely on concepts and demonstrations.