EV start-up Nikola settles with US for $125 million

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN
AP Business Writer

Electric and hydrogen-powered truck startup Nikola has agreed to a $125 million settlement over charges that it defrauded investors after misleading them about its products, technical advances, and financial prospects. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that the company violated the antifraud and disclosure control provisions of the federal securities laws. In July the founder and one-time chair of Nikola, Trevor Milton, was freed on $100 million bail after pleading not guilty to charges alleging he lied about the company. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan charged Milton, 39, with two counts of securities fraud and wire fraud.  He resigned in September.