Nikola agrees to pay $125 million to settle allegations it defrauded investors

Hydrogen trucking startup Nikola Corp. agreed to pay $125 million to settle charges that it defrauded investors by misleading them about its products and technical achievements, the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday.

The SEC accused Nikola of violating US securities law with numerous misleading statements made in 2020 about the company’s products and its future financial prospects. The company’s founder and former CEO, Trevor Milton, was arrested earlier this year on charges that he falsely portrayed Nikola as close to releasing a functional product.

“As the order finds, Nikola Corporation is responsible both for Milton’s allegedly misleading statements and for other alleged deceptions, all of which falsely...

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