A jury decided that he lied to investors to increase the startup's stock and found him guilty of three counts of fraud. The company was accused of faking a video that showed its semi rolling down a hill in order to make it look like it was driving under its own power.
The development process for its pickup truck, the location of the batteries in its vehicles, and how far the vehicles were in development were all accused of being deceptive. He left his position as CEO in 2020.
One count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud are included. He wasn't found guilty of securities fraud. He will appeal the verdict, according to his lawyer.
The case wasn't against the company, which is still in business and which recently recalled nearly 100 vehicles, but Milton himself, who allegedly ignored the chief engineer's advice to delay a launch event as the truck wouldn't be ready In a statement sent to The Verge by Colleen Robar, the company said it was grateful for the court's and jury's attention to the matter.
By 2020, investors had poured billions of dollars into the company, which was founded in the mid-2010s. The company was accused of fraud by a short-selling firm in September of that year. Miller had been charged with fraud and the company had to pay $125 million in penalties after it was accused of misleading investors.
The statement from Nikola was updated October 14th.
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