Nikola Corporation

Zero-Emission Commercial Class 8 Semi-TrucksFounded 2014- HQ today: Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Founders

Who Founded Nikola?

Trevor Milton · Founded 2014 · HQ today: Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Who founded Nikola?

Nikola was founded by Trevor Milton in 2014 in Salt Lake City, United States. It is now led by Stephen J. Girsky.

Founders: Trevor Milton
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Number of founders: 1
Current CEO: Stephen J. Girsky (since 2023)

Where was Nikola founded?: Nikola was founded in Salt Lake City, United States in 2014. wikidata.org
When was Nikola founded?: Nikola was founded in 2014.
Who started Nikola?: Nikola was founded by Trevor Milton.
How old is Nikola?: Nikola is 12 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

Trevor Milton started Nikola Motor Company in Salt Lake City in 2014 and named it after inventor Nikola Tesla. The Nikola One hydrogen semi was unveiled in 2016. A 2018 promotional video that seemed to show the truck driving was later revealed to have been filmed as the truck rolled down a gentle slope, and that became central to the fraud case against Milton.

Trevor Milton

Background

American fraudster and former CEO.

Role at Nikola Corporation

Trevor Milton founded Nikola in 2014, aggressively positioning the company as the absolute direct 'Tesla-killer' for the commercial trucking industry. Utilizing massive hype and highly deceptive marketing (including famously rolling a truck down a hill to pretend it was functional), he took the company public and briefly became a multi-billionaire before being exposed by short-sellers, convicted of massive federal securities and wire fraud, and sentenced to four years in federal prison in 2023.

Trevor Milton was born in 1982 in Layton. Education: Utah Valley University.

Trevor Robert Milton was born on April 6, 1982. He resigned as executive chairman in 2020 after regulatory inquiries and was found guilty of securities and wire fraud in 2022. He is also chief executive of SyberJet Aircraft, a Utah company developing business jets.

Nikola Corporation: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Stephen J. Girsky

President & Chief Executive Officer

2023 – 2025

Former GM vice chairman and VectoIQ chairman. He became CEO in August 2023, put hydrogen trucks first, oversaw the BEV recall fix, and led Nikola into its February 2025 Chapter 11 filing and asset sales.

Michael Lohscheller

Chief Executive Officer

2023 – 2023

Serving as CEO from 2022 to 2023, the former Opel executive attempted to professionalize the completely chaotic company following Milton's arrest, specifically focusing on launching the hydrogen fuel cell truck.

Mark Russell

Chief Executive Officer

2020 – 2022

He took over as CEO immediately after Trevor Milton resigned in disgrace in 2020, attempting to salvage the company's destroyed reputation with Wall Street.

Trevor Milton

Founder, CEO and Executive Chairman

2014 – 2020

As the disgraced Founder, he nearly destroyed the company through massive, systemic fraud before being federally indicted and imprisoned.

Compare Nikola Corporation Leadership With Competitors

Nikola Corporation vs AB Volvo Leadership →Overview

Keep researching Nikola

Who Founded Nikola? FAQ

Who founded Nikola Motor Company and when was it established?

Nikola was founded in 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah, by Trevor Milton, originally named Nikola Motor Company after the well-known electrical inventor Nikola Tesla.

What was Trevor Milton's founding vision for Nikola Motor Company?

Milton's vision was to transform heavy commercial transport by building aerodynamic, zero-emission Class 8 long-haul semi-trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cell turbines, challenging traditional diesel manufacturers with sleek futuristic styling and zero tailpipe emissions.

What was the infamous Nikola One promotional video controversy from 2016 to 2018?

In 2016, Milton unveiled the Nikola One prototype, claiming it was a fully functional hydrogen truck; in 2018, Nikola published a video titled 'Nikola One in Motion' showing the truck cruising at high speed, which federal prosecutors later proved was simply filmed rolling down a gradual hill in the Utah desert with no working propulsion system.

What early engineering talent helped build the real technology foundation at Nikola?

Despite early executive marketing distortions, talented automotive engineers, chassis designers, and fuel cell experts from legacy truck builders and aerospace firms built legitimate proprietary power-electronics, vehicle controls, and battery/hydrogen integration architectures.

How did Nikola partner with IVECO and CNH Industrial in Europe?

In September 2019, CNH Industrial (parent of European commercial truck giant IVECO) invested $250 million in Nikola, providing the heavy-duty IVECO S-Way truck cab and chassis platform that became the foundation for the real, manufactured Nikola Tre commercial truck.

What happened to the $2 billion strategic partnership proposed with General Motors in 2020?

In September 2020, General Motors announced a proposed $2 billion deal to build Nikola's Badger pickup and supply Ultium batteries; however, following the Hindenburg fraud revelations days later, GM scrapped the equity stake and scaled back to a non-binding supply agreement.

What was the outcome of Nikola's legal arbitration against founder Trevor Milton?

In November 2023, an independent arbitration panel awarded Nikola Corporation $165 million in damages against founder Trevor Milton to reimburse the company for costs and damages arising from regulatory investigations and the SEC civil settlement.

How did Nikola transition from a controversial startup to a legitimate commercial truck manufacturer?

Nikola executed a total institutional transformation: severing all ties with Milton, reforming governance under Stephen Girsky, completing its Coolidge assembly plant, obtaining EPA and CARB commercial vehicle certifications, and delivering real, serial-production hydrogen fuel cell trucks to commercial fleets.

What was the legal outcome of Trevor Milton's federal fraud trial?

In October 2022, a federal jury in New York found Trevor Milton guilty of one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud for repeatedly lying about Nikola's technology and prototype capabilities to retail investors. In December 2023, Milton was sentenced to four years in federal prison and ordered to pay $1 million in fines.

Related Founder Profiles

Compare founding stories, origins, and entrepreneurial journeys

Competitor

Explore Nikola

Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.

Who founded Nikola?

Founding Story

Trevor Milton

Background

Role at Nikola Corporation

Nikola Corporation: CEO & Leadership History

Compare Nikola Corporation Leadership With Competitors

Keep researching Nikola

Who Founded Nikola? FAQ

Who founded Nikola Motor Company and when was it established?

What was Trevor Milton's founding vision for Nikola Motor Company?

What was the infamous Nikola One promotional video controversy from 2016 to 2018?

What early engineering talent helped build the real technology foundation at Nikola?

How did Nikola partner with IVECO and CNH Industrial in Europe?

What happened to the $2 billion strategic partnership proposed with General Motors in 2020?

What was the outcome of Nikola's legal arbitration against founder Trevor Milton?

How did Nikola transition from a controversial startup to a legitimate commercial truck manufacturer?

What was the legal outcome of Trevor Milton's federal fraud trial?

Related Founder Profiles

AB Volvo

Tesla

Paccar

Daimler Truck

Cummins