US electric truck startup Nikola has filed for bankruptcy
Nikola, a company specialising in electric and hydrogen trucks, has filed for bankruptcy. The announcement follows reports earlier this month that the automaker was running out of funds.
Here's What We Know
The company has endured 10 challenging years since its founding in 2014. In 2020, Nikola unveiled the Badger electric pickup truck with an aggressive design that envisioned both an electric and hydrogen powertrain. The project looked promising enough for General Motors to enter into a development assistance agreement to launch the model in 2022.
Nikola Badger. Illustration: Nikola
Soon after, the company was accused of fraud, and Nikola's then CEO Trevor Milton was found guilty of multiple charges in 2022. After severing its relationship with Milton, Nikola changed course, cancelling the Badger project and refocusing its efforts on commercial trucks. The company delivered its first electric tractor-trailers in 2022, but failed to deliver enough volume in the following years to achieve profitability.
Late last year, Nikola reported $200 million in accounts and $270 million in long-term debt. As new reports surfaced in early February 2025 that Nikola was close to bankruptcy, the company's share price fell below one dollar.
In a press release confirming the bankruptcy filing, Nikola said it has about $47 million on hand, and the company intends to continue "limited" support for the trucks in service. Court documents confirm that the truckmaker's liabilities range from $1 billion to $10 billion, and the number of creditors the company owes ranges from 1,000 to 5,000.
Nikola is the third U.S. electric car startup to go bankrupt in recent years. Electric pickup truck maker Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and California-based Fisker filed for bankruptcy in 2024.
Source: Caranddriver
