Nikola Founder Goes On Twitter Rant After Allegations Of Truck Exaggerations: Here’s Why

The founder of hydrogen-electric truck maker Nikola (NKLA), Trevor Milton, threatened to sue Bloomberg for saying he exaggerated the details of the company’s Nikola One tractor trailer 3 1/2 years ago.

The report, which appeared in Bloomberg, focused on the launch of the Nikola One truck, which the writer of the story alleged was inoperable despite Milton’s claims it was drivable at the time of the reveal.

In the article, Bloomberg quotes the CEO as saying, “This thing fully functions and works.” But the news outlet said sections of the vehicle were chained off, and no fuel cell appeared in the truck that was labeled: “H2 Zero Emission Hydrogen Electric.” Milton said the truck was not driven at the time of the event for safety reasons.

In a series of tweets, Milton called out the reporter, saying, “The best part is, the interview was recorded so it will be fun suing the [expletive] out of them now. I can't wait to subpoena him and his editor. I am going to set an example for anyone who is a hackjob like @EdLudlow. Make no mistake, this article was intentional and pre-meditated.”

More tweets followed, claiming the reporter “ruined Bloomberg['s] good name” and “hurt himself for this hack job of an article.” Milton eventually sent a letter from Nikola’s legal team to Bloomberg, which he published on Twitter. Milton is calling for the reporter to be fired.

Nikola has seen a recent rise in interest as it announced the launch of its hydrogen-electric Badger pickup truck. The company’s share price popped at the news, but the automaker has been criticized by some analysts for not having produced a truck to date.

Details on Nikola’s Badger pickup truck include a 906 peak horsepower rating with 980 pound-per-feet of torque. Driving range is 600 miles with 8,000-pound towing capacity. The truck is expected to hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds.

Nikola stock was trading at $63.61 per share at 10:23 a.m. EDT, down 45 cents or 0.7%.