All discussion of Nikola Motors

[RobDickinson]

They had what $800m of cash after the float? they tried to use that and a name to buy vehicle production from GM but that fell apart, so now they have to create a business out of whatever is left thats somehow valued at several billion... a few dozen rebadged trucks wont do it.

 

[Mengy]

Individuals commit the sunk cost fallacy when they continue a behavior or endeavor as a result of previously invested resources (time, money or effort) (Arkes & Blumer, 1985). This fallacy, which is related to loss aversion and status quo bias, can also be viewed as bias resulting from an ongoing commitment.


For example, individuals sometimes order too much food and then over-eat just to “get their money’s worth”. Similarly, a person may have a $20 ticket to a concert and then drive for hours through a blizzard, just because she feels that she has to attend due to having made the initial investment. If the costs outweigh the benefits, the extra costs incurred (inconvenience, time or even money) are held in a different mental account than the one associated with the ticket transaction (Thaler, 1999).

Research suggests that rats, mice and humans are all sensitive to sunk costs after they have made the decision to pursue a reward (Sweis et al., 2018).



Arkes, H. R., & Blumer, C. (1985), The psychology of sunk costs. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 35, 124-140.

Sweis, B. M., Abram, S. V., Schmidt, B. J., Seeland, K. D., MacDonald, A. W., Thomas, M. J., & Redish, A. D. (2018). Sensitivity to “sunk costs” in mice, rats, and humans. Science, 361(6398), 178-181.

Thaler, R. H. (1999). Mental accounting matters. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 12, 183-206.

That's a very good answer.

 

[mltv]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1442943066558500865

 

[BluestarE3]

And then, of course, there are tons of people that simply don't understand the underlying technology and think the stock is still worth something based on today's knowledge of the company. I include professional investors in that basket.

Yep. Just like there were a lot of "smart" people who continued to believe and invest in a medical equipment startup (whose founder and CEO is on trial currently in San Jose) even though there were warning signs about the viability of the underlying technology, let alone the company's ability to develop that technology.

 

[Spacep0d]

Yep. Just like there were a lot of "smart" people who continued to believe and invest in a medical equipment startup (whose founder and CEO is on trial currently in San Jose) even though there were warning signs about the viability of the underlying technology, let alone the company's ability to develop that technology.

Ah yes, Theranos and its CEO, Elizabeth Holmes. There is a great documentary out about this now called 'The Inventor: Out For Blood in Silicon Valley'.

 

[mark95476]

Supposedly they're going to pay the SEC off with some of that cash. (edit: Credit mltv for posting that tweet)

Then they can focus on hooking a greater fool to buy the garbage they're pedaling. They had GM for a while.

They had what $800m of cash after the float? they tried to use that and a name to buy vehicle production from GM but that fell apart, so now they have to create a business out of whatever is left thats somehow valued at several billion... a few dozen rebadged trucks wont do it.

 

[RobDickinson]

Gm was only selling not buying.

 

[AudubonB]

I‘ll not be clicking on the link, but I see there is today a SA article claiming that NKLA is one of their top candidates for a short squeeze.
This oughta be fun……

 

[mark95476]

$125M fine for NKLA.

Nikola Corp. agrees to pay $125 million penalty to SEC

Nikola Corporation will pay a $125 million penalty to settle charges against founder Trevor Milton, who misled investors and is currently under indictment for three counts of fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Milton for using his social media accounts, especially his Twitter...

www.teslarati.com

Nikola Corporation will pay a $125 million penalty to settle charges against founder Trevor Milton, who misled investors and is currently under indictment for three counts of fraud.

 

[Knightshade]

Company whose entire market cap is built on fraud fined 2% of said market cap for the fraud.

Yeah, that makes sense.

 

[Zorg]

Company whose entire market cap is built on fraud fined 2% of said market cap for the fraud.

Yeah, that makes sense.

True, but the founder CEO is really screwed. Guy gonna end up broke and in jail. That should send a pretty strong message.

 

[SageBrush]

Company whose entire market cap is built on fraud fined 2% of said market cap for the fraud.
Yeah, that makes sense.

Maybe it does, if it leaves NKLA assets for the misled investors.
I say that in a general sense, since I think the past NKLA investors were, and the present investors are, morons.

 

[SageBrush]

It is *amazing* that the stock price rises upon 'better' fraud litigation news, while ignoring why the fraud happened in the first place: Nikola has no product to sell, and it will never have any product to sell.

That is a $1B chicken running around with its head chopped off.

 

[mark95476]

$317M so far.

Nikola Founder Has Now Sold $317 Million of Stock Since Charges

(Bloomberg) -- Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton, who’s been charged by the U.S. with securities fraud, offloaded stock worth about $33.5 million in the electric truck-maker, bringing the total he’s disposed since August to more than $317 million.Most Read from BloombergReliving the New York...

finance.yahoo.com

 

[HVM]

 

[HVM]

Nikola founder asks judge to block evidence of 'wealth', 'lifestyle' in fraud case

Trevor Milton, the billionaire founder and former chief executive of Nikola Corp has asked a federal judge to block evidence related to his "wealth, lifestyle or spending habits" at his trial for fraud charges.

www.reuters.com

 

[M|S|M MYP]

Nikola founder asks judge to block evidence of 'wealth', 'lifestyle' in fraud case

Trevor Milton, the billionaire founder and former chief executive of Nikola Corp has asked a federal judge to block evidence related to his "wealth, lifestyle or spending habits" at his trial for fraud charges.

www.reuters.com

What's ironic is that he gained all his 'wealth, lifestyle and spending habits' duping investors and now he wants the judge to block evidence related to that.

 

[CyberGus]

Trevor Milton can burn in hell for all I care, but I agree that evidence of his lifestyle would be prejudicial and not probative.

I expect the wealthy to spend their money lavishly, whether they acquired it via fraud or not.

 

[Oil4AsphaultOnly]

Trevor Milton can burn in hell for all I care, but I agree that evidence of his lifestyle would be prejudicial and not probative.

I expect the wealthy to spend their money lavishly, whether they acquired it via fraud or not.

I hope the judge doesn't agree with you. Although I agree that one's lavish lifestyle would prejudicially affect a jury (what kind of plebian wouldn't hate how the rich live their lives?), that "lifestyle" is part of his grift and is the very evidence of his fraud. The two can not and should not be separated.

 

[CyberGus]

I hope the judge doesn't agree with you. Although I agree that one's lavish lifestyle would prejudicially affect a jury (what kind of plebian wouldn't hate how the rich live their lives?), that "lifestyle" is part of his grift and is the very evidence of his fraud. The two can not and should not be separated.

I'm quite certain there is adequate direct evidence of Mr. Milton's fraudulent activities.