The show is pretty much over for Nikola Motors. After a tumultuous few years, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this February. It’s selling off assets to try to satisfy its creditors, so the business is all but dead. Yet if you want a Nikola hydrogen truck, you aren’t out of luck yet.
The company’s completed hydrogen-powered semi trucks are being auctioned as part of bankruptcy proceedings, as first spotted by TechCrunch’s Sean O’Kane. That means you can get up to 103 complete trucks, plus all the spare parts, batteries and tires you could want.
Now, while the Gordon Brothers auction brochure lists these vehicles as “fully operational,” that doesn’t mean they’re ready for hardcore commercial service just yet.
First off, they’re some of the first trucks produced by a company that’s going away. That means if there are any teething issues—and there tend to be for all-new vehicles—you’re not going to get much help from the company. You’ll also be reliant on hydrogen fueling infrastructure, which is extremely uncommon in the U.S.
The good news is the auction list also includes hydrogen fueling equipment, so maybe you could set up your own station and become self-sufficient. I imagine that’d be tough task, but maybe doable.
Either way, it’s a lame ending for a company that once promised a lot. Nikola got a lot of attention early on for its bold claims for its hydrogen-powered truck. It was enough for the company to ink a deal with General Motors, giving it an air of credibility.
Unfortunately, that credibility didn’t last long. Former CEO Trevor Milton was convicted of securities fraud for misleading investors after prosecutors said he lied about the state of the trucks and the business. But don’t worry, he made out ok in the end. (He used some of his money to donate to President Donald Trump, and—entirely coincidentally, I’m sure—ended up fully pardoned. Cool!)
It didn’t matter, though. Once your startup’s chief executive misleads investors by literally rolling a truck down a hill to make it look like it was drivable, you’re probably not going to win over too many more backers. That’s especially true when you’re in the hydrogen business, which requires a lot of buy-in from stakeholders to get the infrastructure in place.
So Nikola Motors is leaving us, known more for the fraud involved than for any success in creating a real product. But for a moment, the company looked like it might persevere with its hydrogen truck. It kept working on the trucks, eventually building over 100.
Sure, it’s not the 30,000 a year the company aimed for, but it’s a start. Albeit one with a pretty tough end. Still, if you want a piece of that history, get in touch with Gordon Brothers.
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com.
