Chaos continues for Nikola (NKLA), as Trevor Milton steps down from his roles as executive chairman and member of the board.
The news comes just days after Hindenburg Research attacked the company “an intricate fraud,” adding, “We have gathered extensive evidence-including recorded phone calls, text messages, private emails and behind-the-scenes photographs-detailing dozens of false statements by Nikola Founder Trevor Milton,” said the report, as quoted by MarketWatch.
The EV company accepted the resignation, saying that Stephen Girsky, former vice chairman of General Motors and a member of the NKLA board, has been appointed chairman.
In a statement, Milton said:
“Nikola is truly in my blood and always will be, and the focus should be on the Company and its world-changing mission, not me. So I made the difficult decision to approach the Board and volunteer to step aside as Executive Chairman. Founding Nikola and growing it into a company that will change transportation for the better and help protect our world’s climate has been an incredible honor.”
However, despite the chaos, General Motors has said it “will work to close” its Nikola deal.
In fact, GM said it will “work with Nikola to close the transaction we announced nearly two weeks ago to seize the growth opportunities in broader markets” with its battery electric and fuel cell technologies. GM is also helping to engineer and will build the Nikola Badger, as reported by CNBC.
In addition, analysts at JP Morgan are sticking with their overweight rating on the stock. However, they did cut their 2021 price target to $41 from $45 to “reflect the risk associated with the resignation of the Founder and Executive Chairman,” says CNBC.
At the moment, shares of NKLA are down 14%, or $4.81 to $29.38.
The post Nikola Founder Trevor Milton Out as Chairman appeared first on Morningology.
