Nikola Corp. founder accused of fraud in trial’s opening

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor accused the founder of a company that claimed it built zero-emission trucks of lying to investors to make himself a billionaire during opening statements of a fraud trial. But the lawyer for Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton said Tuesday that his client was an enthusiastic visionary being unjustly prosecuted. The differing portrayals of Milton were offered to Manhattan federal court jurors at a trial projected to last over a month. In 2020, Nikola’s stock price plunged and investors suffered heavy losses as reports questioned Milton’s claims that the company had already produced zero-emission trucks relying on hydrogen gas for fuel. He resigned two years ago.