Nikola was founded by Trevor Milton in 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah. In late November 2018, it announced plans for a Nikola World event for April 16–17, 2019, in nearby Scottsdale, Arizona. The two-day midweek event was to have included a Public Demo Day to show off the Nikola Two truck and the Nikola NZT UTV. In March 2019, Nikola acquired a 389-acre parcel in Coolidge, Arizona, for, with future state and local tax breaks. Nikola said in 2019 that they expected the truck factory to start construction in 2020, start building trucks in 2021, and be able to build 35–50,000 trucks per year by 2023. In March 2020, Nikola announced its plans to merge with VectoIQ Acquisition Corporation a publicly tradedspecial purpose acquisition company run by former General Motors Co. executive Steve Girsky. This resulted in the combined company being listed on the NASDAQ exchange with the NKLA ticker symbol. Nikola’s stock began trading on June 4, 2020, a day after the merger was completed. By June 9, the shares had more than doubled since they began trading, as investors continued to bet on the growth potential of electric transportation. Nikola executive chairman Trevor Milton tweeted in early June that the company would begin taking reservations for the pickup truck, the Badger, on June 29.
Concepts and early-designs
Nikola has publicly announced a number of zero emissions vehicle design concepts since 2014, and unveiled a few concept vehicles that the company aims to develop to the public. None of the vehicles appear to be in production, or near production, as of mid-2020.
Nikola NZT
In 2016, a prototype concept, the Nikola NZT, formerly referred to as the Nikola Zero, was unveiled as a utility task vehicle with 72 or 107 kWh battery. The concept was stated to have total, provided by a motor at each wheel, weigh, and use the same clearance suspension as the Ford Raptor. Sometime before the end of 2016, it was spun-off into a powersports product, in the Nikola Powersports division.
Nikola One
In 2016, the company unveiled a high-level design of a hydrogen-fueled electric Class 8 truck called the Nikola One, aimed then to be in production in 2020. The Nikola One design includes a 320 kWh EV battery supplying 6 traction electric motors—one for each wheel—with a combined software-limited and of torque – nearly after gear reduction – inspired by electric locomotives. This is sufficient for keeping a speed of with a full load of on a 6% grade. The energy source is 300 kW hydrogen fuel cells consuming H2 per from tanks with of hydrogen, giving a range of. Consumption is equivalent to 15.4 mpg of diesel. The truck has regenerative brakes to supplement the traditional disc brakes, decreasing stopping distance and fuel usage. The hydrogen version was unveiled in December 2016 and was expected to be available by 2019. The company said that in some markets, compressed natural gas may be used to power an on-board gas turbine generator rather than hydrogen fuel cells. , the first 5,000 trucks were slated to be built by Fitzgerald in Byrdstown, Tennessee. Fitzgerald is known for production of "glider trucks", which are built without engines. In May 2018, Nikola Motor Company filed a lawsuit against Tesla, Inc. seeking in damages alleging that the Tesla Semi infringes on several patents Nikola has been granted on the design of the Nikola One. Tesla responded that the lawsuit is without merit. In May 2018, Anheuser-Busch placed a putative order for up to 800 of the conceptual hydrogen-powered truck versions and Nikola claimed then that the trucks would start being delivered in 2020.
Nikola Two
The company has announced plans to build a hydrogen-powered truck called the Nikola Two, with power and range estimates similar to those of the Nikola One, but without the sleeping compartment found in Nikola One.
Nikola Tre
In November 2019, the company unveiled the Nikola Tre electric truck, a rebadged version of the Iveco S-Way that would be aimed the European market. The Tre will also be targeted for the Australian and Asian markets. Nikola Motor Company says the Tre will have 500 to 1,000 horsepower and a range of 500 to 1,200 kilometers. CEO Trevor Milton stated that production is set to begin at the same time as the US truck versions, which is 2022–2023.
