Nicole said Hindenburg Research, a short seller whose news of Nikola’s shares being mortgaged last week, made false and misleading statements to manipulate the market. Shares of the Phoenix-based company declined 16% in premarket trading.
Out of context and underestimated its ability to produce hydrogen for its fuel cell trucks. The Phoenix-based company also said it fired a former CFO and that his departure was not related to the refund of reserve deposits for its first truck prototype, as Hindenburg suggested.
Some responses to the claims made by Hindenburg, who would have benefited from the decline in Nicola’s stock, are more counter-productive than the rebels. For example, the short seller criticized the company for claiming that it was working with its investors, but recently posted a video stating that it used a component of another company that Was covering the product’s description tag.
Nikola confirmed that he uses third-party components in prototype vehicles, but that they can be traded in for his own parts in production versions. The company said it has been working with its own investors.
Hindenburg also criticized the Nikola One, the company’s first semi-trailer, calling it “not a real pickup” and said it corroborated a June Bloomberg story about the company exaggerating its capabilities. Although Nikola said in his statement that the One was designed to run on its own propulsion, its founder has said that he never drove under his own power.
In response to Hindenburg’s criticism of a promotional video showing the truck rolling downhill, Nikola responded that he never said the truck propelled itself.
Nikola’s shares fell as much as 16% before the start of regular trading.
