Nikola, the electric pickup and semi-truck startup manufacturer, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Court filings show that the company has about $47 million in cash on hand, with liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion.
Despite enjoying early enthusiasm from investors, Nikola struggled to deliver enough vehicles to turn a profit.
Nikola, the Phoenix-based EV startup focused on electric and hydrogen commercial trucks, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The news comes after reports earlier this month that the fledgling automaker was running out of money.
The company has experienced a rocky 10 years since it was founded in 2014 with a focus on both electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. In 2020, Nikola revealed the Badger, a tough-looking EV pickup with both EV and hydrogen powertrains. Plans looked promising enough for General Motors to sign on to aid in development ahead of a 2022 launch.
The company was accused of fraud a short time later, with then-Nikola CEO Trevor Milton found guilty of multiple charges in 2022. After falling out with Milton, Nikola changed course, canceling the Badger and refocusing its efforts on commercial trucks. The company delivered its first electric semi-trucks in 2022, but it has not been able to deliver enough in the intervening years to make a profit.
Late last year, Nikola announced it had $200 million in cash and $270 million in long-term debt. With new reports coming out earlier this month that Nikola was nearing a bankruptcy announcement, the company’s stock price plummeted to under a dollar.
In a release confirming the bankruptcy filing on Wednesday, Nikola said it had about $47 million in cash on hand. The company intends to continue with “limited” support for trucks on the road. Court filings confirm that the automaker has liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion, with the number of creditors it owes between 1000 and 5000.
Nikola’s filing makes it the third high-profile EV startup to declare bankruptcy in recent years. Lordstown Motors, another EV pickup startup, sought bankruptcy protection in 2023. A year later, Fisker, the California-based startup headed by Henrik Fisker, went belly up.
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