10 ms·

The whole company looks a bit shady to me. The claims, the name, the renders, no legal entity named, no info on founders/advisors/investors on the website or Li

by adamsch 10y ago

The whole company looks a bit shady to me. The claims, the name, the renders, no legal entity named, no info on founders/advisors/investors on the website or LinkedIn, etc. Also, why would you redesign the cabin from scratch if what's unique is the drivetrain? "NO COMPETITION" "MANY TIMES CLEANER THAN DIESEL ENGINES" "Nikola Motor Company is not currently accepting walk in visitors. After we launch the vehicles at the live press release later this year, contact numbers and locations will be provided for visits."

flurpitude 10y ago
It feels like the Steorn of car companies. Or a dodgy Kickstarter. All designed to create a buzz with no real evidence of a product.
sbuttgereit 10y ago
The Nikola Motor Company trademark appears to be owned by a company called: BLUEGENTECH, LLC. (https://trademarks.justia.com/866/17/nikola-86617159.html https://trademarks.justia.com/866/17/nikola-86617159.html) The Nevada corporate filing for Bluegentech, LLC: http://nvsos.gov/SOSEntitySearch/CorpDetails.aspx?lx8nvq=EAFcQmQEZdiE%252bEQ1x3mo1w%253d%253d http://nvsos.gov/SOSEntitySearch/CorpDetails.aspx?lx8nvq=EAF... And is apparently run by a guy named Troy A Wallin. I hate it when companies put up a web site and then don't say the least bit about who manages the company or is involved in it in some way. Does make things look less than honest. EDIT: I also found in an article the name of the CEO, and here is his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theofficialtrevormilton https://www.linkedin.com/in/theofficialtrevormilton ... Not sure if there actually is a direct relationship to Bluegentech, LLC... the Nikola Motor Company from the article is described as being Salt Lake City, Utah based. Bluegentech, LLC is registered as a foreign company in Utah. (And, yes, I am just avoiding real work this morning.) 2nd EDIT: Ok there is a relationship.... another Nevada corporate filing (DHYBRID, INC.) links Troy A Wallin to Trevor Milton: http://nvsos.gov/SOSEntitySearch/CorpDetails.aspx?lx8nvq=QQdt4kj8k9WCHG3LA56B8w%253d%253d http://nvsos.gov/SOSEntitySearch/CorpDetails.aspx?lx8nvq=QQd... (Ah the joy of public filings) Final EDIT: It's interesting. Going back to the original idea that the company had a fly-by-night feel. I now know that the people involved have some actual experience in their industry (at least generally). My perception of them, while still very limited, is somewhat better. I can't help but thinking that being a little more upfront about the principals would improve their first impressions... despite the name ;-)
- camillomiller 10y ago
  I never understood why the so called "Impressum", the page with all the info about the company ownership/leadership, is mandatory only in Germany.
  - sneak 10y ago
    Perhaps it is because not everyone shares the Deutsche Bundesregierung's lust for making everything not prohibited compulsory. Let them put whatever they want on their website. Let us mock them. All is well.
  - jakobegger 10y ago
    Also in Austria :)
fouc 10y ago
The CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theofficialtrevormilton https://www.linkedin.com/in/theofficialtrevormilton Edit: I wonder if nikola motor is a subsidiary of http://worthingtonindustries.com http://worthingtonindustries.com ?
- sbuttgereit 10y ago
  Doesn't look like it. The CEO did sell a previous company to them, but it looks like he's started a new venture with some of the same players. I wouldn't be surprised if companies they've worked with were invested in the new venture, but the legal filings (see my other comment on this thread) suggest this is a new venture.
return0 10y ago
> Nikola (pronounced Neek-oh-la) Motor Company (NMC), named after the famous electrical engineer Nikola Tesla, was quietly formed by Founder and CEO Trevor Milton years ago to design and manufacture electric vehicles, energy storage systems and electric vehicle drivetrain components. Apparently they put up the website with their 3d models a few days ago.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
nevir 10y ago
They've apparently also beaten conservation of energy "NEVER PLUG IN - TURBINE CHARGES BATTERIES AUTOMATICALLY WHILE DRIVING"
- oconnore 10y ago
  You know the turbine runs on CNG, yes?
  - nevir 10y ago
    Ah, wasn't clear to me at all!
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
blakeyrat 10y ago
The technology is legit, there's nothing preventing a company from building a truck like this. There's a few things that bug me: 1) Why natural gas to run the turbine and not, say, diesel? It seems natural to run the truck on diesel, if nothing else so the driver can hang out with his friends and show it off at the local truck stop. 2) There's only renders, no photos. They haven't actually built one yet? At least that high-efficiency truck Wal-Mart was/is testing, they actually built the thing before they started crowing about it.,
- nradov 10y ago
  In the US right now natural gas is slightly cheaper per mile than diesel. Existing truck manufacturers have already started offering NG fuel vehicles.
  - blakeyrat 10y ago
    I wasn't aware of that. I have no problem with making use of natural gas reserves, I just figured a diesel option would make adoption easier on truck drivers.
- cachvico 10y ago
  TIL about the high efficiency truck revolution
- drone 10y ago
  The answer to #1 provides some insight as to what might make this play a little more interesting. Reading into the truck page, check out this gem: "At Nikola Motor Company, we’ve decided to invest in American energy. Nikola owns the rights to its own natural gas wells along with the Nikola One fleet that transports the natural gas from the wells to the stations. With 7 wells on a single property, Nikola can pump out millions of gallons of clean natural gas each day. Nikola plans on having more than 5 well sites for redundancy throughout the United States. Complete vertical integration removes market uncertainties and allows Nikola Motor to control its own prices and keep them that way for Nikola customers. Nikola bypasses all the gas companies, liquifies the gas on site, then delivers it to the station through its fleet of electric trucks." The trucks appear, in part, to be a method of arbitraging future LNG prices which have been going down, and can be expected to continue to fall for the foreseeable future as more and more wells keep coming on line.
kemiller 10y ago
The fact that they claim to own their own wells and liquification is pretty fishy. What kind of startup is going to have expertise in both gas extraction and electric vehicle engineering? And why on earth would they even want to when there's pretty good infrastructure for that already?

by adamsch 10y ago

flurpitude 10y ago

It feels like the Steorn of car companies. Or a dodgy Kickstarter. All designed to create a buzz with no real evidence of a product.

sbuttgereit 10y ago

The Nikola Motor Company trademark appears to be owned by a company called: BLUEGENTECH, LLC. (https://trademarks.justia.com/866/17/nikola-86617159.html https://trademarks.justia.com/866/17/nikola-86617159.html) The Nevada corporate filing for Bluegentech, LLC: http://nvsos.gov/SOSEntitySearch/CorpDetails.aspx?lx8nvq=EAFcQmQEZdiE%252bEQ1x3mo1w%253d%253d http://nvsos.gov/SOSEntitySearch/CorpDetails.aspx?lx8nvq=EAF... And is apparently run by a guy named Troy A Wallin. I hate it when companies put up a web site and then don't say the least bit about who manages the company or is involved in it in some way. Does make things look less than honest. EDIT: I also found in an article the name of the CEO, and here is his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theofficialtrevormilton https://www.linkedin.com/in/theofficialtrevormilton ... Not sure if there actually is a direct relationship to Bluegentech, LLC... the Nikola Motor Company from the article is described as being Salt Lake City, Utah based. Bluegentech, LLC is registered as a foreign company in Utah. (And, yes, I am just avoiding real work this morning.) 2nd EDIT: Ok there is a relationship.... another Nevada corporate filing (DHYBRID, INC.) links Troy A Wallin to Trevor Milton: http://nvsos.gov/SOSEntitySearch/CorpDetails.aspx?lx8nvq=QQdt4kj8k9WCHG3LA56B8w%253d%253d http://nvsos.gov/SOSEntitySearch/CorpDetails.aspx?lx8nvq=QQd... (Ah the joy of public filings) Final EDIT: It's interesting. Going back to the original idea that the company had a fly-by-night feel. I now know that the people involved have some actual experience in their industry (at least generally). My perception of them, while still very limited, is somewhat better. I can't help but thinking that being a little more upfront about the principals would improve their first impressions... despite the name ;-)

camillomiller 10y ago
I never understood why the so called "Impressum", the page with all the info about the company ownership/leadership, is mandatory only in Germany.
- sneak 10y ago
  Perhaps it is because not everyone shares the Deutsche Bundesregierung's lust for making everything not prohibited compulsory. Let them put whatever they want on their website. Let us mock them. All is well.
- jakobegger 10y ago
  Also in Austria :)

fouc 10y ago

The CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theofficialtrevormilton https://www.linkedin.com/in/theofficialtrevormilton Edit: I wonder if nikola motor is a subsidiary of http://worthingtonindustries.com http://worthingtonindustries.com ?

sbuttgereit 10y ago
Doesn't look like it. The CEO did sell a previous company to them, but it looks like he's started a new venture with some of the same players. I wouldn't be surprised if companies they've worked with were invested in the new venture, but the legal filings (see my other comment on this thread) suggest this is a new venture.

return0 10y ago

> Nikola (pronounced Neek-oh-la) Motor Company (NMC), named after the famous electrical engineer Nikola Tesla, was quietly formed by Founder and CEO Trevor Milton years ago to design and manufacture electric vehicles, energy storage systems and electric vehicle drivetrain components. Apparently they put up the website with their 3d models a few days ago.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

nevir 10y ago

They've apparently also beaten conservation of energy "NEVER PLUG IN - TURBINE CHARGES BATTERIES AUTOMATICALLY WHILE DRIVING"

oconnore 10y ago
You know the turbine runs on CNG, yes?
- nevir 10y ago
  Ah, wasn't clear to me at all!
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

blakeyrat 10y ago

The technology is legit, there's nothing preventing a company from building a truck like this. There's a few things that bug me: 1) Why natural gas to run the turbine and not, say, diesel? It seems natural to run the truck on diesel, if nothing else so the driver can hang out with his friends and show it off at the local truck stop. 2) There's only renders, no photos. They haven't actually built one yet? At least that high-efficiency truck Wal-Mart was/is testing, they actually built the thing before they started crowing about it.,

nradov 10y ago
In the US right now natural gas is slightly cheaper per mile than diesel. Existing truck manufacturers have already started offering NG fuel vehicles.
- blakeyrat 10y ago
  I wasn't aware of that. I have no problem with making use of natural gas reserves, I just figured a diesel option would make adoption easier on truck drivers.
cachvico 10y ago
TIL about the high efficiency truck revolution
drone 10y ago
The answer to #1 provides some insight as to what might make this play a little more interesting. Reading into the truck page, check out this gem: "At Nikola Motor Company, we’ve decided to invest in American energy. Nikola owns the rights to its own natural gas wells along with the Nikola One fleet that transports the natural gas from the wells to the stations. With 7 wells on a single property, Nikola can pump out millions of gallons of clean natural gas each day. Nikola plans on having more than 5 well sites for redundancy throughout the United States. Complete vertical integration removes market uncertainties and allows Nikola Motor to control its own prices and keep them that way for Nikola customers. Nikola bypasses all the gas companies, liquifies the gas on site, then delivers it to the station through its fleet of electric trucks." The trucks appear, in part, to be a method of arbitraging future LNG prices which have been going down, and can be expected to continue to fall for the foreseeable future as more and more wells keep coming on line.

kemiller 10y ago

The fact that they claim to own their own wells and liquification is pretty fishy. What kind of startup is going to have expertise in both gas extraction and electric vehicle engineering? And why on earth would they even want to when there's pretty good infrastructure for that already?