BACKGROUND ON THE REPORT
Nikola has been one of the most high-profile zero-emission vehicle startups this year. Its shares jumped following a reverse merger in June that listed the company on NASDAQ. Many industry observers suggest that a combination of Tesla's recent increase in stock price and a retail investor frenzy into EV companies led to increased interest in $NKLA.
Nikola has kept itself in the spotlight through the repeated media appearances by its founder and president, Trevor Milton. Milton is a regular guest on CNBC, has an active presence on social media, and has even appeared on Inside.com CEO Jason Calacanis' "This Week in Startups" podcast.
The report was released on the heels of a $NKLA stock price rally last week, when Nikola announced GM would be jointly developing a pickup truck with the company. Right after the GM announcement, shares of $NKLA jumped 53% to $54.54 last Tuesday.
As a part of the deal, GM would assist Nikola in the engineering, validation, and manufacturing process of the Badger pickup truck. In exchange, GM will acquire an 11% stake in Nikola, worth roughly $2b, and will have the right to appoint a director to Nikola’s board. Nikola would use both GM's Ultium EV battery and Hydrotec hydrogen fuel-cell technology platforms.
