Electric trucking startup Nikola defends itself from short-seller fraud allegations

Nikola Corp., the buzzy electric trucking company, is defending itself against charges of fraud that were made by short-selling firm Hindenburg Research. The allegations came just days after GM announced it was taking an 11 percent stake in the startup.

Nikola said the report from Hindenburg Research is “false and defamatory” and was “designed to provide a false impression to investors and to negatively manipulate the market in order to financially benefit short sellers, including Hindenburg itself.”

The startup said it has briefed the US Securities and Exchange Commission on the report and will cooperate with the agency regarding its “inquiry.” (A spokesperson for the SEC declined to comment.) The Phoenix-based company also said it had...

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