Nikola has delayed a long-awaited event to showcase its vehicles and battery technology, as the start-up battles a crisis that led to the departure of its founder Trevor Milton.
The Arizona-based company said on Wednesday that its “Nikola World” event in December, where it was set to demonstrate vehicles including the Badger pick-up truck, has been postponed, without giving a new date.
While Nikola pointed to Arizona’s restrictions on large gatherings in light of the pandemic, the delay comes as the group tries to win back investors’ confidence after a short-seller earlier levelled allegations of fraud against a company that was briefly one of the hottest stocks on Wall Street.
In a long statement on Wednesday, seemingly designed to reset expectations and clarify timelines for a company that only went public in June, Nikola detailed its projects and their progress. It reconfirmed key dates in its product development, including the launch of its first truck to be manufactured by Iveco in Germany late next year. The group said it is also on track to begin production at a facility in Arizona in 2022.
The market value of Nikola has collapsed since a report from short-seller Hindenburg Research on September 10