Nikola founder Trevor Milton was charged in 2021 with misleading investors about the electric and hydrogen truck maker's technology after a short seller's report, and a jury convicted him on three fraud counts in 2022. He was sentenced to four years but remained free on appeal and was pardoned by President Trump in March 2025, weeks after Nikola filed for bankruptcy.
Milton was pardoned in March 2025 and the SEC dismissed its civil case against him with prejudice in September 2025. Nikola is being wound down under a Chapter 11 liquidation plan confirmed in September 2025, and in February 2026 a federal appeals court upheld a judgment confirming a 167.7 million dollar arbitration award Nikola won against Milton.
Hindenburg Research published a report alleging that Nikola was built on false statements by founder and executive chairman Trevor Milton, including a claim that a promotional video showed the Nikola One truck rolling downhill. Hindenburg disclosed that it had taken a short position in Nikola shares.
Nikola said Milton had offered to leave his roles as executive chairman and board member and that the board accepted. Director Stephen Girsky, a former General Motors vice chairman, became chairman with immediate effect.
The SEC filed a civil complaint in the Southern District of New York alleging that Milton repeatedly misled investors about Nikola's technology, products, in-house production and commercial achievements, and personally gained tens of millions of dollars. It sought injunctions, an officer and director bar, disgorgement and penalties.
Prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed an indictment charging Milton with two counts of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. They alleged that from about November 2019 to September 2020 he made false claims about a prototype truck, hydrogen production, in-house components and binding orders. The case was assigned to Judge Edgardo Ramos.
Nikola settled SEC fraud charges without admitting or denying the findings, agreeing to a 125 million dollar penalty, a cease and desist order and continued cooperation with the SEC's litigation and investigation. The SEC said a Fair Fund would return penalty money to harmed investors.
Jury selection began in federal court in New York, the AP reported. Milton had pleaded not guilty and was free on 100 million dollar bail.
KSAT (Associated Press)A prosecutor told jurors Milton lied to investors, while defence lawyer Marc Mukasey said Milton was describing a long term vision for trucking and did not intend to mislead, Reuters reported.
CNBC (Reuters)A federal jury in Manhattan found Milton guilty of one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud and acquitted him of a second securities fraud count, CNN and Bloomberg reported. CNN said the jury deliberated for about five hours.
Nikola said an arbitration panel in New York awarded it about 165 million dollars plus interest against its founder and former executive chairman, covering costs and damages tied to government investigations including the 2021 SEC settlement. The company listed its ability to enforce the award and recover from him as a risk.
Judge Ramos sentenced Milton to four years in prison on each count, to run concurrently, and fined him 1 million dollars, the AP and FreightWaves reported. FreightWaves said no surrender date was set and Milton remained free on bond while he appealed.
US District Judge Diane Humetewa in Arizona upheld the arbitration award and ruled that Milton owes Nikola about 167.7 million dollars, covering most of Nikola's SEC penalty plus legal fees and expenses, Reuters reported.
Nikola filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware with about 47 million dollars in cash and asked to run an auction to sell its assets and then wind down. Chief executive Steve Girsky cited market and macroeconomic factors.
Prosecutors asked the court to order Milton to pay 660.8 million dollars in restitution to individual investors, Bloomberg reported. His sentence was on hold during his appeal.
The Office of the Pardon Attorney lists a pardon for Milton dated 27 March 2025 for securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud in the Southern District of New York. Milton said on social media that the president had called him personally, and he maintains he is innocent, Bloomberg reported.
A White House official confirmed the pardon, and Trump said Milton "did nothing wrong", Bloomberg reported. It said Milton had given more than 2 million dollars in political donations late in 2024.
Lucid acquired Nikola's manufacturing site in Coolidge, Arizona, out of the bankruptcy sale process, Overdrive reported, adding that Milton made unsuccessful bids for Nikola assets.
Nikola's operating report for August 2025 showed three people on the payroll, down from 874 at the bankruptcy filing, and about 50 million dollars in cash, CCJ reported.
The Delaware bankruptcy court confirmed Nikola's Chapter 11 liquidation plan after a hearing on 5 September, Overdrive reported. The court subordinated Milton's 69.8 million dollar creditor claim and held that his pardon does not erase earlier arbitral and judicial findings, the outlet said. The SEC's roughly 82 million dollar penalty claim was split into general unsecured and subordinated parts.
The SEC filed a joint stipulation with Milton to dismiss its civil enforcement action against him with prejudice, saying it acted in the exercise of its discretion. Gizmodo said the pardon had also wiped out the more than 660 million dollars in restitution prosecutors had sought.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's confirmation of the 167.727 million dollar arbitration award against Milton and rejected his bid to vacate it, in an unpublished memorandum.
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KSAT (Associated Press) · ksat.com CNBC (Reuters) · cnbc.com
ABC17 News (CNN Business) · abc17news.com
Gizmodo · gizmodo.com
News4JAX (Associated Press) · news4jax.com
Investing.com (Reuters) · investing.comLast updated 1 November 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Every event links to the record it comes from. Allegations are attributed to whoever made them.