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Design study of the Nikola Badger pickup
Photo: Nicolamotor
When
Trevor Milton
(39) founded Nikola Motors six years ago, he already had the great role model Tesla firmly in view: What could be more natural than to secure the first name of the famous electrical engineer Nikola Tesla for the company - and thus to set the direction.
In contrast to Tesla, Nikola does not only rely on electric drives, but also on fuel cell technology and thus on hydrogen as a drive: The electric pickup "Badger" is to come onto the market in 2022 with either a battery or a fuel cell - although Tesla Chef
Elon Musk
(49) has
already
derided
fuel cell
technology as
fool's cell
technology.
Now Milton is getting one step closer to its goal of bringing the "Badger" onto the streets: US automaker General Motors (GM) has joined Nikola as part of a strategic partnership and is receiving shares worth around $ 2 billion, which corresponds to an 11 percent stake in Nikola.
In return, GM will manufacture Nikolas pick-up truck Badger and supply both the battery and the fuel cell drive.
Investors have already celebrated this move: While Tesla shares increased their losses last week by a further 10 percent, Nikola shares rose by around 30 percent.
Nikola shares jump in price
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"You couldn't dream of a better partnership," enthused Milton, as usual euphorically - he knows just as well as Tesla boss Musk how to inspire investors for bold visions of the future.
That is why Nikola from Phoenix in the US state of Arizona has been shaking up the stock market since the middle of the year and is causing euphoria with his highly ambitious growth plans.
A bit of Nikolas luster also shone on the Old Economy on Tuesday: GM's papers also increased significantly.
The pickup market is very attractive for manufacturers not only in the USA.
la
