"Bad"-ger News?

[Dr. Byrd]

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/09/nikolas-deal-with-gm-was-supposd-to-close-today-it-didnt/
quote:
When Nikola and GM announced a partnership on September 8, GM said it expected the deal to close by September 30. Now September 30 has arrived, and the deal hasn't closed. Media reports indicate that the deal is unlikely to close today.

A GM spokesman confirmed the delay in an email to Ars. "Our transaction with Nikola has not closed. We are continuing our discussions with Nikola and will provide further updates when appropriate."

Also this morning, Nikola published a revised overview of the company's business strategy. It discussed Nikola's plans to manufacture semitrucks in Europe and the United States, build a network of hydrogen fuel stations, and even plans for an electric all-terrain vehicle. But conspicuously missing from the document was any mention of the Badger pickup truck—the one that GM was supposed to manufacture for Nikola under the now-delayed partnership.

Nikola also announced today that it was indefinitely postponing Nikola World, the December event where Nikola was planning to debut the Badger. Nikola blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and related social distancing rules for the delay.

I asked a Nikola spokeswoman if we should read anything into the fact that the Badger wasn't mentioned in its new strategy document.

"No, considering the executives remain in active negotiations," she responded by email.

Perhaps GM's deal with Nikola has simply been delayed for a few days. But at a minimum, the future of the partnership—and the Badger—remains unclear.

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[Dr. Byrd]

more interesting speculation:
"
We don't know why negotiations over the deal have dragged on. It seems most likely that GM is pressing Nikola for more favorable terms. Perhaps GM is seeking more shares of Nikola to compensate for the sharp decline of Nikola's share price since the September 8 announcement. Or GM might be pushing for stronger protections—like upfront payments—to make sure GM wouldn't be hurt by Nikola's failure.

On the other hand, it's possible that Nikola is the one pushing for changes. Perhaps Nikola's new leadership concluded that Milton rushed into a deal that was tilted too far in GM's favor. Or maybe Nikola is having second thoughts about the entire Badger project. Perhaps Nikola would be better off scrapping the Badger and focusing on building hydrogen-powered semitrucks.
"

 

[UT Rivian]

Predictably, Nikola has not ended well for Trevor Milton.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/p...trevor-milton-charged-securities-fraud-scheme

 

[Gshenderson]

Pretty much any startup these days could be charged with the same thing. If they make it, they are lauded as revolutionary heroes. If they crash and burn, then they are lying crooks. There’s a very fine line in between, and whether they fall on one side or the other seems to depend more on luck and timing vs the veracity of the claims they make. For a lesson in the comparisons and contrasts, look deeply at Tesla and Theranos. There’s more similarities than differences. The differences were timing, luck and ultimate outcome. One is lauded as one of the biggest success stories ever, the other as a complete fraud. Both were teetering pendulums that ultimate fell one way or the other due to some very marginal forces. Either could have easily had the opposite outcome.

 

[Friscorays]

Bummer about March 1, 2022.

 

[Gshenderson]

Theranos may not be the best example because that was inarguably a complete fraud. I think Nikola dragging their electric semi to the top of a hill, filming it move downhill as gravity takes control and then using that video as proof of concept isn't far behind.

Many would argue that early days of Tesla were as well. The difference being they survived to deliver something. Im not so much defending Theranos, but rather saying if Tesla had gone down in flames in 2012 (which they were literally days away from doing), They would also be labeled for eternity as a “complete fraud”. Nikola, Lordstown, etc. the only difference is whether they sustain their “fraud” long enough to have a successful product.

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