How to Lie Your Way to $34 Billion [Nikola Motors Fraud] – Blog

Tera Star
Well, technically, a truck that doesn’t start is indeed zero emissions
Lamina Cribrosa
I still can’t get over him naming it Nikola. It’s like one of those knock-off companies that use similar names to the original, like Abibas, Nihe, Numa, etc..
Amin Lin
“Milton claimed that his Nikola one could be driven when in fact the closest it ever came to driving was when a group of Nikola engineers took it to the top of the hill and rolled it down so it could be filmed for a commercial” 😂😂😂
DD Marty
Amazing how his story pretty much mirros Elizabeth Holme’s. Dropped out of college, started a business they had no experience in, lied to investors, put out a show that had a nonfunctioning product, based on science that did not exist. Changed the focus of the inventino midstream. And all these big companies just bought into it with zero vetting. What a great video. Thank you.
Đorđe Kozić
The world’s biggest truck maker, without selling any trucks. Effing genius! This just points out the incompetency of the whole economic system of today.
Roy Smallian
How come none of the corporate investors did a walk through of Trevor Milton’s production facilities. Shouldn’t the CEOs of these companies be charged with gross negligence?
daintellekt
Pulling this off in 21st century in the age of social media, govt watch dogs, media glare, and significantly learned society is just incredible. Company got listed with $34B valuation- unbelievable !
Jesse Wood
I work for an EV startup. We have so many engineers working our tails off to get our car to production. It makes me sad that we have to do so much to convince people we are the real deal cause of greedy people like this. It also makes me feel sad for the people within the company who were genuinely trying to fulfil the dream. They must’ve felt powerless and morally hit even though they weren’t the ones who lied.
Avinash
I think the success of Tesla and making it one of the most valuable automakers in the world made GMC and others jealous and they wanted someone to beat Tesla, Nikola was that someone and they invested heavily in it and Tevor dropped all of them off the cliff
orbo Akin
The moment I hear someone in tech babble on about “the environment” I immediately become suspicious of them.
ReallyRandomRides
Yeah, “fake it until you make it” for sure! The older I get, the more I realize just how many scammers there are in the world. Though you’d think all of these savvy investors would done more due diligence. Even they were fooled. The trucks looked great and could have totally disrupted the industry… if they were real. Amazing that he got as far as he did.
Josh densley
I met Milton while pitching a deal with my boss for our city transit buses to convert to CNG . Seemed totally B.S and we wanted to see the actual results before moving forward . That was the last time we spoke to him .
Taurus
I think the biggest factor in him being able to pull this off is Tesla’s success and people who missed that boat jumping on anything resembling a “second chance”.
Tom Leykis Fan
If engineers, scientists and technicians had more say in the vetting process this would have been stopped before it started. When non technical people have the power they don’t deserve this is the result. As an electrical engineer of over 30 years I have seen this time and time again. I never trust the word of an arts grad over a STEM grad on these matters.
Eeyore stole my donut
I remember this company when I started investing in the EV sector. After watching multiple interviews of Trevor contradicting himself yet watching the price action, this turned out to be a good swing trade for me. However, I was surprised there were long-term investors that had high conviction for this company.
Ronald Jones
This is actually really hilarious!!!! The fact that people are able to receive real money for non existent tech is really amazing, I want in!!!🤣🤣
Yitzy Pollak
I’ve been following this company since the beginning and have always wondered why there was nothing clearly proven or tested or no actual prototype shown how it works. Now I got all the answers
Garvežiukas Tomas
Getting scammed while scamming has to be the most USA I’ve ever heard
Evan Edinger
Wait… investors yoloing in all their money without doing a lick of research??? There’s a few crypto-related subreddits that should watch this
Joey T
BEST Scam reporting ever! Amazing writing, research, content and delivery! Keep up the great work. Love it 🙂
Dom M
The disgusting thing is that because of how the legal system works, even if he is found guilty and goes to jail for a few years he’ll still have enough money hidden away from all this to live comfortably for the rest of his life. Crime does pay.
Alexander Sapcote
It’s kinda crazy people can do this. It’s happened throughout history. Imagine if a person who knew what they were doing did this, maybe with the investment they could change the world.
Nqobie1
The sheer audacity to lie at this magnitude is quite astonishing. The guy had balls.
Vitorruy1
people like him are inevitable, imagine if every loud mouth turned to be a success, how guillable would investors become! people like him help us to keep it real.
John Nicol
Really interesting and informative window, i remember at the time the hype about this was unreal and it did seem to be one off those game changer moments inhuman history especially on the Eco friendly front.
Age of Reason
This was only possible because the stock market mania was already in full bloom, the marketing infrastructure to push such a lie was also well developed in the form of social media and retail investors and forums also helped to create buzz.
Jay H
This is what happens when marketing and sales start before engineers talk about possibility.
redmanticore
9:17 car journalism -> just take everything that’s said to you at face value 10:49 politicians -> just take everything that’s shown to you at face value 19:12 legacy car makers -> just take everything that´s shown to you at face value
Derek Johnson
Wow, as a philosophy major at this same university that Trevor attended I can confirm that their sales and marketing department taught things such as how to profit from selling just a rock. Every time I went back to my philosophy classes it was like a breath of fresh air. Nothing against the school, just my observation of that marketing department.
Jessica
When I asked my followers from different platforms what are they immediate financial goal, most of them said that their want to make their first million. So that’s what we’re doing today…
Krazi Von
I’m actually impressed he went from broke to making not only himself rich but also his family
Phil Ward
It’s amazing that these high level corporate execs can be so duped by someone like this. Are they not smart? Do they not have some kind of business intuition? No skepticism, no facts and they just give away money.
Matthew Targett
This is mind-blowing! The most successful truck company that never sold a truck!
Jonas Jonaitis
I was always surprised by the whole ‘invest in startup’ philosophy and especially the no-accountability by founders aspect. It’s the whole culture of ‘we are building, you give us (‘invest’) money and if we fail and burn your cash – that’s you problem’. This is what you get allowing these arrogant and stupid ‘startups’ to exists in the first place.
LUSCIOUS DUNCAN
i feel like i watch SO many of these mini-doc type videos and never connect with them socially like i do with youtube comedians etc etc. SO i just wanna say this: thanks! this was a great video and it was incredibly engaging and informative. your channel as a whole is honestly a fantastic resource and the embodiment of “does what it says on the tin”…in a good way. i know some people say that sarcastically but i mean it as if to say you are the embodiment of a good mini-doc channel on youtube. you just present the information and that’s it. your material is equally entertaining for every conceivable “type” of human being. republican, democrat, vegan, carnivore, atheist, christian, black, white, WHATEVER…you’re like an engaging and fascinating version of wikipedia in a video format. argh…these all sound like put-downs. i swear i like you!!!!! lolol. anyway. hope you’re having a wonderful morning, afternoon, or night. if not you can always try again. deuces
Robust Bottlecap
Keep doing these type of fraud documentary, i’m loving it
Dino Rodriguez
This is simply one of the best channels to spend valuable YouTube time. Excellent work Dagogo!! 👍🏼👍🏼
Almari Swart
Always mindblowing how crooks think they can get away with lies.
Masternuckable
This guy is the professional version of that guy in everyone’s group projects.
Max D
I’m not ‘very experienced investor’ but even for me that was obvious that Nikola is a fraud since the time I heard about it. That situation shows how easy to fool the people
Manik Kalore
This also proves how incompetent GM management is.
Jedric Barlow
I wonder how many of these companies will come out in the next few years that are becoming unsustainable right now, that we never knew about. Or companies that played the game so well, they never got caught.
Babrak Tarakai
I applied to this company last year! Crazy that they were still recruiting through all this and glad I dodged the bullet.
Sophie D.
Assuming the facts are correct, how this man wasn’t in jail after the first fiasco is beyond me, but who am I to judge.
Zen-EH
Thank you for opening my eyes to the casino of Wall Street researches. I’m liquidating most stocks and reducing all of my stock market exposure significantly. I have never invested in this company but I am amazed how people invest in these companies w/ $0 revenues, also have some banks out here recommending to buy them. It’s mindless. Very good report.
Albert Canales
Loved it If I could add one thing…? I personally would have liked to hear more details about the conviction and jail time assuming it has happened Thanks!
Enok Innokenti
Investors: ‘I’m not an idiot. I’m not falling for another Theranos!’ Nikola Motors: ‘We’re marketing a truck powered by pixie dust!’ Investors: ‘Just take my damn money!’
Trevor Jones
I’m glad Dagogo added that comment at the end. Halfway through the video, I couldn’t decide whether to blame Milton or the investors. Are these people doing any research?? Between this and Theranos, I feel they’re almost as guilty as the actual criminals
jim
Trevor’s on the line for a maximum of 15-20 years in federal jail. I’d do that time tbh. He’s made himself & his entire family, parents, siblings etc millionaires serveral times over. There’s 100s of millions that will never be recovered.
Justin Owens
Before it all happened I bet everyone of those people said “there’s no way that could happen, it’s the most secure truck company ever”
BethesdaFan1
He and Elizabeth share one thing. Both are college drop-outs who thought they can just skip the system and do things just because they feel like it. It works for some rare cases but not for the majority.
kiracaos
Say what you will, the dude is a legend for pulling this off and getting as far as he did.
Paul Pincemin
It’s fascinating that, with that much capital, he could have genuinely tried to build the necessary infrastructure and go for the real thing. Instead he just cashed out.
L
It’s kind of crazy to me that these things can go on as long as they do.
Wootle2BTootle
Just amazing. Its sometimes a struggle – do we get mad at him or do we grudgingly admire him for taking so many for the ride of their lives? Similar to Theranos they just kept moving forward regardless of what they were spewing. And the investors just kept hurling millions at the company. I laugh at these investors, zero sympathy. The most basic of basic checks were not done – again like Theranos. One burning question I have – the truck at the unveiling. Did no one who got in ask for it to be started? Oh but wait – he probably had an excuse for that – or even a real electric motor that was from a golf cart and whose only purpose was to start to make it seem the truck was for real. The real kicker of course is its doubtful that he will serve huge jail time and when he is out – back to his $$$ and that Utah ranch! Good times!
Natellite
The most amazing part about all of this is that the people who constantly harass Elon Musk and short Tesla thought that Nikola was going to overtake Tesla. They even had Trevor on their podcast.
Stavros Ouzounis
as an investor, I dislike the notion of short selling, but this case, same with Enron, proves that these folks might regulate the market by exposing those frauds
toasteh
When something looks unrealistically futuristic in design, I smell bs. There’s always a reason experienced engineers have not progressed with such designs already.
Chetan Kale
It’s fascinating to see these frauds. Shows how easy it is to manipulate people. Great video.
Les Romanchuk
I appreciate investors that look to investing in a cleaner future. It’s sad when they fall prey to people looking to exploit that
Thought Garden
This is what happens when we stop questioning people, and judging them on what they say they are instead of their merit
Lihao Yeong
I wonder if this guy ever had an exit strategy. So many product launches, claims, preorders, and no actual product in years, surely it’s gonna blow one day.
Pale Penguin
Amazing as always. Except one factual flaw. Banks don’t do anything out of disgust. They only act out of two factors. Greed and fear.
DJ Ewave1
I remember thinking this stock was going to fall because this company definitely seemed too good to be true and their products were never tested by a third party.
ImprovementGang
This is an insane story. At that point of money, it is no longer about living for some good standard of life, but it becomes something that is just keeping score with other people.
R K
This shows how inept the managements of the big companies are
Emeka Okolocha
Bro made the most of that one semester studying Sales and Marketing. This has to beat the record for RoI anywhere lol.
Zen
Rule 1 of due Diligence: let me and my team of experts test your product to ensure it delivers on functions that you state. I hope Trevor gets a prison cell next to Elizabeth Holmes and they can wear turtlenecks together
harrycook111
What’s really amazing about the lie is the people who believe in the lie!
Andy Sammy
He deserves the billions for being able to pull this off
Mauro Bantic
It’s amazing how low the bar can be for attracting obscene investment and garnering massive media attention. Tech industry investors and journalists failing to do even basic due diligence. Essentially, you build a pretty prop akin to something you’d see on a sci-fi Hollywood set & make a nice animation of a “repowering station” and you end up with billions. Incredible
Joshua Russell
That man is truly a hero of capitalism! Bravo and well done!
tornut24
If there’s a successful EV company named Tesla and a dude comes along with an EV named Nikola, you know it’s probably a scam riding coattails
Aidan Maloney
i feel like any half competent engineering student could pick companies like this apart if they could be bothered to do basic research into the underling tech
Steve Hogard
I almost did a pre-order. But, when they kept pushing the production date back. I decided to pass. Glad I did.
ttystikk rocks
And yet, they’ve beaten Tesla Motors to market with a battery powered truck?! Time for CHAPTER TWO of the Nikola a!
Lauren💅🏼
I just don’t understand how someone can do this, let alone get away with it. Like Elizabeth Holmes! I can’t even lie about eating something from the fridge that isn’t mine, never mind lying and swindling people out of hundreds of millions of dollars 😩
henry twigger
The more you invest in a bad idea, the harder it is to give up. There are many much bigger frauds going on now.
Luigi Trapanese
If he kept going, this guy would have announced that the trucks can even fly, reducing costs and save the environment
tim mustang
Just goes to show that rich investors have the same financial sense as the common man except they have bigger pockets. Sometimes, people just get lucky investing in the right company, that’s all.
Matt Bailey
My favourite memory of Nikola was all the fanboys on YouTube and elsewhere calling me a “hater” for thinking this was all smoke and mirrors. I’m literally howling with laughter now. Ridiculous. Thanks for the video Dagogo.
Arnaldo
Well, I guess Nikola wasn’t lying about the truck being zero emissions 🤣
techwiz81
It boggles the mind that giant corporations like BP and GM will happily invest billions with literally no due diligence
Assil Bellaoui
Experts : “There’s no way this is true” Trevor : “How can that be possible we’ve done it” The rest of the world :”understandable have a nice day.”
BC-Guy
Another brilliant job, as always Dagogo! (Im subscribed, I’ve liked, shared and commented. What else can I do to support you and show my gratitude?)
Chris Oliver
New viewer, find your content fascinating, well informed and very interesting, loved your Nick Leeson story.
Agent W
This man became a billionaire when he didn’t even sell any of his product and the product doesn’t even work…
Dennis
the video quality is insane once again. thanks for all the super exiting topics over and over again I otherwise would have never heard of
Extreme Griefer Jesus
If this guy was really as smart as he thought he was, he would’ve cashed out, demanded the money up front and disappeared into the sunset. The fact that he bought million dollar mansions tells you he actually thought he would get away with it.
Momchil Andonov
Prison time Milton was charged with one count of wire fraud, and two counts of securities fraud on Thursday, turning himself in for arrest and processing. The U.S Attorney’s Office points out that the penalties are extremely harsh: Wire fraud: 20 years in prison; and securities fraud up to 25 years each, if convicted respectively – Milton may be facing a maximum sentence of 55 years!
WebB LaB
It reminds me of my early childhood. I knew what I want to build, what it should do and how it should look like… but… had no idea how to achieve it. Even so, I started and expected that somehow I end up with a reasonable result..
Gary
I got to see two of Nikola’s semi’s in Quartzsite AZ at the loves truck stop getting charged. The two drivers gave me a walk around and explanation. They were very impressive. These two tractors were on there way to the San Pedro docks in Long Beach Calif. Great job Nikola. You have a nice product.
Sass Hole
Finally, a scandal from Utah that doesn’t involve incest- “a sexual assault allegation from Trevor’s own cousin just added to the horrible mess” -nevermind
R Freitas
I remember when the news about Nikola came out, and I thought this was so good to be true that it was on the limit of bullshit LOL and how a company without a single truck built could be so valuable
Prabhat Tiwari
Videos from ColdFusion are so relaxing. Awesome storytelling of the famous fraudster Trevor (Reminds me of Trevor from GTA V lol).
Karen Swain
OMG this is unbelievable!! I LOVE this channel, so fascinating. I do know that this tech he dreams of and tried to bring to the world, will happen as someone will perfects it. And Much more will occur in the not too distant future as humanity refine their ideas of science physics and technology. We will have vehicles that will run on anti gravitics, flying cars, transport that will go beyond the light/sound barrier. And as we evolve our tech, there will be machines and tech that will produce things we need, in the home, or near our homes making the truck industry obsolete. It’s an exciting future when greed and the need for money, power and luxury do not get in the way. Thank you for all your work Degogo! Big Love
Alex Force
I had to pause the video the moment Milton started saying that they produce hydrogen 3 times cheaper than the rest of the world. I luaghed out loud!
Awful Waffle
“how can a man look so confident” I think they’re referred to as a confidence man or I think they prefer the term con artist because it really is an artform.
ChicaLocaGB
I never heard about this case. Brilliantly done and absolutely enthralling. It always amazes me how much people can get away with by just spouting lies with confidence.
Supersafe Aerodynamics
No one can still figure out Nikola Tesla’s genius. Making a zero emission truck is a giant leap.
Riley
This brings back some fun memories. I wrote an article in the summer of 2020 against some of Milton’s claims, which he actually responded to (though not very well). People were sounding the alarm before the report came out, but they were unfortunately far and few between. Great summary of the whole event.
K-plus tunjevina
I really like this channel. Another very informative video. Thank you!
Tom Leykis Fan
If engineers, scientists and technicians had more say in the vetting process this would have been stopped before it started. When non technical people have the power they don’t deserve this is the result. As an electrical engineer of over 30 years I have seen this time and time again. I never trust the word of an arts grad over a STEM grad on these matters.
knessi ng
I can’t wait till this channel covers and does a story on the eventual crash of a scam that is CIG’s Star Citizen (the daddy and OG NFTs in the forms of jpeg/virtual space ships/goods).
Next Up
I work in the automotive industry. That story was/is just amazing.
VladiAK
After watching this channel for a while, I’ve developed hate for these investors. They could’ve invested into infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, so many possibilities to make real difference. Instead, they always fall for get rich quick scheme. Because appetite comes during the meal and these people literally cannot stop till they choke on it. Pathetic.
Karan
Really dodged a bullet on this one. I remember watching the event. That thing you mention about him focusing more on the tablet instead of the truck was a huge red flag for me. Also, the company had no sales and no history of business. I backed off right away.
Darwin Graeme
Great video mate. As our fellow Aussie at Economics Explained would say, “Due diligence & research, due diligence & research & more due diligence & research before you invest”. Congrats old mate you just gotta new subscriber.
Pablo Hernandez
Thanks for the tutorial. Really helpful.
Bryce Daugherty
I always thought it was a scam. It never sat right with me.
pascal Arimont
I will forever be indebted to you you’ve changed my whole life continue to preach about your name for the world to hear you’ve saved me from a huge financial debt with just little investment, thanks so much Mr Ray F Johnson
Mufumbi John Mulenga
How did intelligent engineers keep working for this guy?
Leo Poly
Why on Earth are these people not jailed! If I stole $5 from a bank I’d be hauled away in 2 seconds flat… yet everyone knows these people are lying but are allowed to get away with it! It makes my blood boil.
Marius L.
The big lesson to lear from this is, that stockprice says (nearly) nothing about a company. Same with telsa, just not to the same scale.
Kerrie Hilgefort
I think a missing part of the story is what became of his dad, brother, and other co-dirtbags. I think it would be really funny if it was one of his “insiders” that tipped the short-sellers.
McKay Garrett
No joke I met this guy. He moved Nikola to PHX in 2018/2019 and I was working construction at the time. We were remolding the massive home he bought. He was nice and cordial but didnt waste much time conversing with a construction worker like me 😂😂
Mister X
If you sound convincing enough and keep repeating it, most people will come to believe you. For a certain while, at least.
Solsun
Still thinking about how a startup EV company called ‘Nikola’ attempted to sue Tesla for copyright infringement, very ironic
Yora
I believe in German law, creating a separate company with a name that aims to confuse business partners and customers about the entity they are dealing with is illegal and won’t let you slip out of obligations.
zachary branker
Anyone who’s ever worked on both the diesel and natural gas versions of a commercial motor knows theres no simple “conversion process”. The temperatures and pressures are different, the heat fatigue characteristics of the motors are wildly different, the head has to be completely remachined, this is not like tweaking a little briggs motor to run faster for your go-kart, and when you think of the kind of mileages long haul trucks endure, some half assed conversion process wont cut it, i knew that shit was a big fat loser as soon as i didnt hear them say they were pulling the drivetrains out and replacing them.
Cary
If there is anything I have learned from watching ColdFusion, it’s that the world needs a hell of a lot more critical thinking skills.
Howard B Bailey
“For every doubter out there that said there’s no way this is true”…You were absolutely correct!
BurnOutTrader
I am curious how much actual cash flow they had, I feel like with the partnerships and investment they seen they could have pulled the whole thing off if they got some help from people who knew what they were doing no doubt it would have taken time but the economy of scale of hydrogen production would have worked in their favour if they could get a commercially viable production method and a powerful enough hydrogen engine, you would think with the help of GM that should have been possible, I suspect that GM was more aware of the situation then they let on but they rolled the dice knowing they may be able to pull it off and didn’t foresee that the whistle had already been blow by insiders looking to capitalise by taking evidence to the shortsellers.
Nivola 1953
We live in the era of alternate reality, social media hypes, buzzwords and hi tech. Put in a tumbler, shake with a drop of MSM and presto the next Nikola in the making.
iskandertime747
How have I never heard of this story? Great reporting!
Ian Wooldridge
When the first pyramid scheme came to Perth, Western Australia in 1970, i was just a 20 year old, my older brother took me to the launch, it was so full on, and i was working as a sales representative for an Australian company who were the agents for Nikon, Bell and Howell and other quality photographic products. I had been trained from 16 in the English way of selling, it was highly ethical back then. After a couple of hours of American hype selling this pyramid scheme, i just smelled a large rat, it was too good to be true, and that stuck with me for the last 50 years. ” If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t ” If someone can basically sell ice to the Eskimos, i have walked away from their deals over the years, and 99% are just dodgy people who speak out of both sides of their mouths !
VoidSurf
His family is rich beyond their wildest dreams now. He took one for the team. Obviously this is morally bankrupt, but some people recognize that their best chance at the life they dream of is ripping people off. When you consider that life only lasts 80 years on average, it’s easier to understand why some people don’t care about things like morals.
Isaac Gentz
Love your channel branding and intro man, thank you for such great content
stevelondon
I can’t believe Nikola stock is still listed and can be bought! The whole thing is a sham!
Rosewater Petals
I really don’t know how he fooled various industry experts, he lost me at “Nikola”, what a desperate attempt to be perceived as the new Tesla.
Greg Whittle
WTF!! What a guy… Man, the craziness of Hype has cost people millions. Hope he goes for life
Sweeping Time
I remember when I saw a Boston Dynamics video about their robots and thinking, no way, that is not real. Here’s a truck that looks like any other truck but of course no one gets to pop the hood and take a look, and it looks more convincing than a band of dancing robots if you didn’t suspect anything at the time.
LacedBoy
It was so obvious. The signs were everywhere and I’m definitely an amateur investor. When you want to believe something, you will convince yourself of it’s legitimacy.
Mach Fiver
With the incredible amount of can do and ingenuity that’s involved with successfully pulling off one of these ripoffs. It’s hard to understand why they choose to use their powers for good or better yet snapped up then used to get a good project off the ground and generate investor capital. Which they’re more than qualified to do. Hell even behind the scenes designing strategy and momentum would be a benefit to something worthwhile
Musmus28
Welp, in my opinion this guy is the GOAT when it comes to being a salesman, exceptionally good with his mouth that he capped his company at around $30 Billion, thats just incredibly deceptive
Chilel'sConcrete
But the fact that it was all a scam and how he carried himself through out the whole process has me stunned
Bob smith
Part of me wants to see them still bring something successfully to market, strictly for the comedic value.
9256steven
Anyone who invested and wasn’t bothered about the company name deserves to lose all their money.
nick281972
I nearly pissed myself laughing when I found out last year that the footage of the truck pulling a load was done by free wheeling the empty truck down a hill 🤣🤣🤣🤣 sometimes the simplest deception is the most convincing.
David Hill
Another great video. These are terrific and very informative
Nate's Film Tutorials
Trevor Milton: “Don’t worry guys, I have a plan.” *Deletes all his social media*
Ova9000
to put it simply, he crowdfunded spectacularly and figured he could buy his way into the tech he needed before realising it isnt possible
Weaseltube
“He kept lying until the very end”… except it hasn’t ended yet, and he’s continuing to lie. That particular sentence exhibits the exact same type of irrational positivity that this whole video decries!
Vivek Chandra
These scams are golden coz even if exposed they use the same money (they scammed) to hire best attorney to either get them away with or delay the judgement.
Professor Moriarty
The force was strong with this one. His ability to lie and deceit was unparalleled. I wish I had his ability to convince investors into investing money in my idea.
Jonisses Marchadesch
Trevor Milton is the Wolf of Wall Street version of the EV industry
matt9017
“The Nikola motors IPO was the largest distributed IQ test in history” SMR
PWN NATION
I’ve seen the Tre truck on its way from Baltimore harbor to Phoenix, and it’s nothing like the Nikola One. On a positive note, it had electric drive and an actual battery pack.
Dreamshake Gaming
You gotta give it to this guy tho, he is one hell of a salesman
Nelson
2016 was a hell of a year for scammers is what I’m seeing in all these videos lol
Kevin Bruff
Thank you for this excellent summary and presentation.
Black Panther
So I heard right that Nikola sued Tesla? What a time we live in 😀
Paul Pedersen
It’s amazing, and disheartening, that that crook is not only still free, but living a life of luxury. He will likely drag out the legal proceedings for many years to come. Hell, with the expensive lawyers he can afford, he might even get off altogether. Life sure is different when you’re rich.
Enixier
The move of simply letting the truck run downhill due to the use of good old gravity is actual pretty smart 😀
꧁. T DOLLA ꧂
cracks me up- dude is promising he has fully built out and ready for market revolutionary technology and yet they still had not completely figured out how to even get the door to latch properly
Ray of Light 62
“Living in the present” is the way of life of the scammers. They don’t mind the nasty endgame, the day when they will lose everything. Investors keep looking very hard for the next hi-tech investment, and this behaviour plays in the hands of cheats of all kinds. A bit of scientific and engineering knowledge, on the part of the investors, is what is needed to build some sane skepticism…
John Swift
Weird that the stock is still traded. Great video as always!
Quinn Gabriella
Success depends on the actions or steps you take to achieve it. Show me a man with no investment and I’ll tell you how long it takes to fail. The investment creates a safe haven for the future. With the right investment choice that has at least a minimum risk of 2% and with expert advice, both profits and interest are 100% guaranteed.
Old man
Many of us in the public called it way before this played out. The gullibility of investors is amazing. Trevor’s pitch style is perfectly typical of a bulshit artist. You can see it miles away if you know how to read people.
ahnaf
The whole concept and design of the truck was so beautiful, the guy could’ve made so much more money if he actually dedicated himself and properly did the project… such a shame.
InkTide
The Efficient Market Hypothesis takes yet another blow from reality. “It seems investors have collectively lost their minds” had me laughing for sure.
eric wsmith
What made this such a great scam is contrary to what the narrator said, is the technology is in fact out there, the hard part is packaging it in a working truck, and making the truck run more, or at least as economically as a conventional truck,
Milos
After watching this, I think Trevor Milton is a protagonist, playing with cheats, while we all are just NPC’s. Damn.
Abraham Alviarez
Very good video!, incredible how all those “brillant” guys are falling one by one, lies always floats. Same happened with the silicon valley girl
OMG No Way
Such an awesome looking truck. Someone please get this on the road.
MrIDontClickBaitFTW
What none of you understand is the mainstream companies today that we grew to love and buy things from did this exact same thing when they were starting. Fun fact, a pre-order is like an interest-free loan. You keep the people from asking too many questions and you lie to them until you can pull it off. Thats how you make a profit. You can’t tell the truth otherwise you will fail.
Z Unit
This is insane lmao. I had so many friends invest into this company because they knew him here in Utah. I still remember seeing all the posts on facebook of people congratulating him here for his hard work and excitement for him and his success.
Patrick
I love that Trevor can’t even wear his mask properly, just saying 😂 instant red flag for most
Peter W-ski
Great summary, this is maybe even more interesting than Theranos. Amazing this still has ca 4-5B market cap, but I guess it’s like with antivax/ conspiracy theories followers, nothing can change some people’s minds
Ian Macfarlane
By getting caught, these scammers are making it more difficult for future scammers – I’ll need to get my finger out before people wisen up.
STP
Oh, I remember all these investors on forum boards arguing and calling names anyone that has said anything negative about Nikola … well, hope they did not loose too much, live and learn I guess.
Swirl AndTwirl
I always remind myself be contented, achieve, avoid greed and avoid being delusional.
Matt Jay
When I heard him say “to film the commercial they just towed the truck up a hill and let it roll down” I could not stop laughing. 🤣🤣 I just can’t even. Imagine being apart of the crew who had to film the commercial…
Camas
Subsequent to this video’s creation, in December 2021, Milton settled with the SEC for $125M. Apparently, billionaires can buy off regulators for pennies on the dollar. Shame!
Kevin Michael Kappler
I love your content. You also have a fantastic voiceover sound.
BeazyFaSho
Biggest mistake of my life was not shorting NKLA when I knew he was lying many years ago.
Danger Bear
I feel like companies like Nikola make it as far as they do because they’re a great opportunity to launder money.
zone47
Greed baby! Pure and simple. Investors diving in without ever doing any research or seeing any evidence of a real functioning truck is amazingly stupid.
Giesbert Nijhuis
A miss in this docu, is the fact that many youtube channels were well aware of Nikola Motors/Trevor Milton BS, and very vocal about it, to protect the individual investors, and to shut up all the nonsense. Channels like: Solving The Money Problem, Now You Know, Warren Redlich, Fully Charged, Tom Nash, Nukem Finance, and many others!
Andes Archer
My father met an investor. The investor said that the most important thing about being a stock investor is to never get emotionally attached to the stock!
wojak
The most impressive stunt Trevor pulled was keeping those buttons on his shirt from popping off.
Jim Kaff
Cold Fusions Guy, I know you are a perfectionist. You used the phrase ‘the technology doesn’t even exist’ in a broad way. The technology for heavy duty fuel cell trucks absolutely exists and is in commercial service with several OEMs, as you certainly know. If you wanted to restate that. Trevor was jagging around fuel cell suppliers, reneging on contracts for stacks, etc.
Holms Peterson
With billions of dollars, he was still looking for more. That’s the definition of greed in its purest form.
Alien of Earth
What’s with all these entrepreneurs deriving their company name from Nicola Tesla yet not paying homage to his greatness?
Jc Dock
I love how the company is called Nikola, an obvious using Tesla’s idea
Eliakim ben Ishchayil
A con man made it all the way to the highest office of the land so this story as astonishing as it is shouldn’t be in this day and age. What Kills me is that he didn’t even try to improve the technology in his trucks
Peter Yianilos
For all his efforts, this guy deserves free room and board for years. Many years.
Nate
I see the newer version of these trucks hauling loads in AZ , Im glad Nikola figured it out with their new CEO.
El R*******
Well , he could have used 34 billion to pay qualified professionals to deliver on his promise and actually produce the truck, he could have been the next ford if his passion for building an manufacturing was actually REAL The problem is he wasn’t the right one for the job but his selfish reasons became priority an screw everyone else On the other hand, it’s one of the best scams I ever heard of, he must be a hypnotist
Jason Lang
What I can’t understand is how did he think he’d get away with it.
CandleGuyFX
What he did was game-changing, and by extension, was a game-changer.
Andrew Fallon
You can tell he was lying in his interviews. He didn’t have the flow of conversation you might find from a big tech executive. He either isn’t intelligent, or sucks at speaking publicly.
Sasataf
How could a man look so confident about his achievements while knowing that none of what he was saying was real? Sociopaths…they’re called sociopaths.
Broken Robot
11:45 Is it legal to make employees sign an NDA which hides criminal activity, such as fraud?
dreburch
Just because he was able to take his ponzi scheme all of the way public he should not be exempt from going to jail. This man should at least see some jail time for all of the people he defrauded.
Ragtop rocker
Thank you for the update, I was wondering what happened to this guy
Peyton Williams
And now I kinda wanna design something for my light duty truck that would sort of do this lmao.
James Lama
Thank u . Coming from a mba and business background I love the videos and information you out up. Keep it coming . Also may I bother to ask you the sound track u use at the end of this video ? Thank you
Phantom Black
Love those stories, it has important lessons to be learned, I’m still baffled that reputable companies with their own R&D and engineers actually fell for this scam.
S S
Everything Trevor promised has come to or is coming to fruition.
エヴァンゲリスタレイアン
This sounds like my first boss but on a smaller scale. Also asked me to lie to our clients. His one skill that I acknowledge is that he’s really good at convincing people. Lied to his employees, clients, partners. To this day, I bet he continues this.
Bruce Ewart
Fascinating how anyone could get anything done under turd
Sold By Folds
Crime pays! Growing up my dad told me people were honest. I specifically remember him saying it in 1984 and I was like “no they’re not” but he didn’t believe me. I wonder what it must’ve been like to grow up with all honest people. Everyone just lies now or creates their own reality and blames.
BC P
It’s amazing how dense investors with to much money can be to be taken by this fraud lol.
Ajrilltrell joshua
Trevor Milton is a smart guy😂
Brian Howard
Lmao he really rolled the non-functioning truck down a hill to make the video proving that it was ‘fully functioning’ truck 😆
bobocpe
C’mon people, let’s be honest. You need balls made of brass and a grandmaster’s poker face to sell this amount of bs and not being caught.
eMpTy
Nikola now states “while still working on the hydrogen fuel cell trucks that are promised to be launched in 2023.” what a intricate scam.
Niall Cochrane
Outstanding movie, I’d no idea how blatant Nikola’s lies were. You should do a video on the trillions “lost” by the pentagon.
Joey Otremba
I worked for Worthington industries. Great company! Can’t believe they fell for that shit!
Gp-15 /4
Wouldn’t investors and companies be more wiser to people claim to have “revolutionary” tech or idea at this point
Jager Powell
Omg no way that company was fake! I had such high hopes 😖
Aaron
How did people not question the technology he had invented? He couldn’t had lied for much long if some technical questions were asked.
waynez1025
Outstanding report. Thank you!
Rudy T.
When a young man becomes really good at playing Monopoly. I’m not mad at him, he was a genius. Money buys lawyers and judges. Money can buy anything.
Alan Mydland
Another phony, I remember when I bought a motor that took 4 yrs to build. The only thing good in the motor was the oil. Smoke and mirrors
SV
I am so thankful that I did not buy any NKLA stocks (I almost did). Though, TSLA, LCID, NIO, & GGPI are not doing so well lately either.
Marc M
“With enough greed everything is possible”
HeisAif
Lie until you get caught. This seems like a trend.
Tune Ink
The issue with Greed is that enough never seems enough!
Blood Bath and Beyond - Pop Goes Metal Covers
“Oh, but when NASA does gravity assisted launches, they get praise! When I do it with my truck, I get indicted!”
D&NYC
very well made video. absolute gold. and for Trevor.. Trevor.. what an amazing story and my God – just purely astonishing what an imagination will do. kudos to Trevor for proving you can absolutely do anything in this world that you want to. He could have put his head in books, labs, and the like and possibly made a great product, but chose to skip the hard work and get straight to the money printer. kudos man. that’s what I like to see!
nigefal
It is amazing what you can do if you can sell a dream and create an image. Sums up the technological internet age. Very vocal but low on substance.
atharv kulkarni
“On site conversion of electricity to hydrogen via electrolysis”, someone with basic high-school science knowledge can smell bs here
Snix
14:10 IF you could produce some sort of energy source (in this case, hydrogen) 81% cheaper than the rest of the world…. I think you should make a business out of that xD
Jonathan Kim
Whether a person can lie to your face depends on how much they can gain.
Astro Physics
Theranos: Finally, a worthy opponent!
Leo
the funny thing is that he raised enough capital to actually made this business possible , instead he continue with the lies , he would have hire the best engineers in the world and get the project started , remember Tesla #1 issue was funding the project at the beginning.
LarrytheCucumber167
As someone who got sucked into this scam, thankfully not for too much money, I can only hope that new management will continue to improve and actually fix this company. I want to see them succeed and I think they can, just not with Trevor at the helm. Crossing my fingers hard on this one.
j7ndominica0
He should have cashed out when it was still time and bought a mansion in Panama or somewhere like that. How many of us could pay the power bill from those billions.
Andrew Gautreaux
One would think that with this kind of market capitalization, Nikola would seek out engineers and chemists to expeditiously come up with a way to make these claims materialize… Anyone know what ever happened to Mr. Milton?
Joseph Gilboy
“Think of yourself as an inexperienced investor” Lmao
RogerM
The first truck Gravity assisted…Genius!
kiracaos
Milton: It was just a prank bro! Guy probably didnt’ expect to get that far.
EdmundKemper'sDartBoard
The sheer audacity is kind of impressive. It’s not too surprising that investors are willing to part with billions collectively based on zero evidence when you look at the curent social climate. One where words and emotions are more important than due process or fact.
Sam Plautz
Dang I was close to investing in them but something just didn’t feel right. Beat decision of my life
Chase Bethersonton
From what I understand of Wall Street’s due diligence, George Lucas could have gone to them in the 80’s and convinced them that he invented spaceships.
Asthetically Pleasing YouTube Name
I dont understand how a company with no product and revenue was allowed to have an IPO
AttilatheThrilla
If these companies don’t know how to do “due diligence” they deserve to lose their money…
Corvus Hyperion
This shows the lack of scrutiny around new environmental tech. People were susceptible because they wanted to believe. It’s outrageous that he is not in jail.
WestOfEarth
When I first heard of Nikola, I was a bit suspicious that this truck company had sprung up out of nowhere, and under the name so closely related to Tesla.
RKGSD
I think GM knew more about Nikola’s founder than they’re willing to admit.
Dan the-Man
I wish everyone would stop idolizing Musk as some sort of revolutionary icon. All he’s good for is hyping consumers for tech that’s “too good to be true” and consistently failing to deliver the value he keeps promising in his products and services. If anything, Musk will be the next Elizabeth Holmes one day.
Austin Hernandez
If I were a scammer like this I would just take a million and cash out and be done, let someone else continue if they want to. It would probably be forgotten and I would never get caught.
MrMoss786
I’ve seen this so often in corporates, people can talk well and lie with a straight face and get buy in easily, usually european or people with a good command of english.
DomScatterbrain
Somehow I got the gist that big-name company is simply throwing their money to smoke out their potential competitor rather than investing in it.
Moss
Despite all of those losses he’s really good at conning people
Kasper
Incredible how obvious it was from the start
Sal Vivona
When you name your company NIKOLA while your main competitor is TESLA, you know whats up
Replicant 2049
This is what happens when you have MBAs in top mgmt instead of engineers. You fall for this crap like gullible fools.
michael riviello
You raised all of that money and hired your concrete brother. You had me until that.
RadarUser
If you make up enough BS, there is always someone greedy enough to pay for it.
Gerson Zandamela
Dear voice behind Cold Fusion I don’t know what drives you to create videos and songs as mentally charged as these. I don’t know if you’re a happy or a sad person because these songs fit any of the feelings, but for me you’re the kind of artist that must exist for the world to make sense. Thank you so much from the bottom of my soul.
adeadalien n
At this point, he deserves scamming his way up there; it takes certain kinds of skills to net that much lol
S J Elliott
I love it 😀. He achieved the American dream, separating stupid people from their money.
Dereck Dean
What got my attention was how they showed the finished project ‘fetching down the hill ‘ after being towed there.This guy and the Theranos clown with the turtle neck attire are not just con artists and grifters …..they are thieves.
Olise
The funny part about the story is that there are hundreds of Nikola’s coming up through SPAC deals and people keep buying their stock. If you are searching for the next Tesla, they are all in China
The Ball Splashers
He took “Fake it until you make it” to the next level
TopiaSR
This is why short selling is a good thing. It incentivizes private individuals (firms) to investigate regardless of whether regulators miss the mark
Yani Tomov
Hearing “Nikola sues Tesla” is just such a weird and uncanny thing, I honestly don’t know if it’s funny or sad
ТурбоТОП
Naming a company “Nikola” in this day and age should have already been a red flag to everyone
Sean Thomas
If it weren’t for the internet and the media he would have never pulled this off at all
stopato
Why didn’t Iveco and Bosch go alone on the development of the drive train and batteries, find another German partner to develop the Hydrogen power unit? I can’t understand why they would partnership with Nikola given the damage Trevor did to the brand. I suspect Nikola is more than Trevor, and with him gone, the is still value in Nikola’s dream.
Shane Klein
I was 11 when this was happening and I had told my grandma this guy was lying. XD
Carlo duke
When it comes to the world of investing,most people don’t know where to start. Fortunately, great investors of the past and present can provide us with guidance
Tuff Gong
Another hit Netflix series in the making! 🙂
Andrew Vicendese
The most interesting thing of this debacle, was how clearly obvious to me that Nikola was a scam, yet managed to convince so many business leaders around the world. Also, Nikola is still somehow valued at over $4b. Crazy stuff.
Coop Cooper
He’s about as experienced as Elon
CUMBICA1970
I bought a book of idioms in English some 25 years ago and there was this one phrase I loved there “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
ENDITA KAMWENESHE
It’s hilarious that people think they can pull a scam and get away with it forever, or may e they are aware they going to get caught and by then they would have enjoyed the money and they can go to jail peacefully.
Kingpin Logistics
I can’t wait to watch the one about Tesla in a couple years
Clownworld
I’ve no idea what’s going on with investors but it seems increasingly easy to scam. Absolutely no due diligence
Madao
That’s why I dropped out of the startup I was co-founder in. You’re not judged by results and competence but by your ability to convincingly sell bullshit. Being realistic about the odds and the time frames doesn’t get you anywhere but giving in to those who would just go along with this crap? No, thanks! If you ask me, the losses the investors suffered served them right for that attitude. It’s just sad to think that if it wasn’t big corporations he scammed but individuals in a crowd funding campaign or with pre-orders, he would probably even get away with this.
Deborah Anne
Why didn’t they get engineers? Juggling the wrong way. Thank you Cold Fusion.
Peter August
One thing I learned in my life is to ask questions. If your opposite can not answer the questions adequately, then it is highly unlikely that he is simply so much smarten then you that you do not understand the answer and highly likely that he simply does not know himself. That might not be true for everyone, but for me it was so far.
Neil Mansfield
These trucks and cars should of had a prototype before people including investigators bought into the company . Hope the company survives
MikeHawk
To his credit, if a real company picked him up to be their sales pitch guy, he could of done good.
knee-long
10:53 has me confused, The dude must have also been confused. Not only did he throw a scoop of “breaking ground” dirt 10 feet, he threw it into another participants hole lol! And he did it again!!! TWICE!!! Soooo out of his element, how did it get so out of hand?!
Cheng Teoh
Coldfusion : “It’s becoming clear Investors have collectively lost their minds” DWAC investors : “What’s a mind?”
Martin Princeton
The easiest way to make billions in the US. Enrol in college, drop out after your first year, start a business, have a revolutionary idea that no one has thought about , and the rest is history.
Salty Pretzel
It’s insane that due diligence was so quickly thrown out the window. Even a cursory glance would raised red flags.
Teddy Hub
after watching this, my respect for elon musk skyrocketed by 1000X
You're not on fire yet.
The narration on these can be dauntingly calm and reserved “..well that wasn’t quite true” like dude he was straight up lying, non-stop.
Manie Botha
Possibility of all the big companies’ disinformation to take this huge threat to their future and very existence out.. ?
Ronnie
First clue should have been when someone who is saying they are going to revolutionize the transport industry has zero engineering experience but has taken one semester in marketing.
n4n1damn
When he was explaining how today’s generation don’t care if you have a working prototype but are ready to invest if you claim your technology is environmentally friendly… It was like explaining the model behind his scam to his friends and saying “look how dumb they are, they’d buy anything.”
Taccom99 0
In the end he’ll go to jail for probably 3 years, pay a huge fine, then still be left with hundreds of millions of dollars. He wins.
Jimmy Ho
This guy is a genius 🎉👍🏻👍🏻
Hayagriva Kongu
The surprising thing is that even the big companies fell for this….., and what’s even more surprising is that the company still did not delist from the stock market.
Jim Goodman
He learned hypothesis & used it very well….. just saying.
Sergeant Gutter
1:09 He practiced in a mirror 6 hours a day, just like in the sims game, he just had massive charisma.
SilverSerpent
My husband actually built offices for ENRON 🤣🤣🤣🤣. THAT WERE NEVER USED. Investors found them out and they went belly up. There will be another ahole in the future doing the same shit in grandiose purportions.
Dhruv
Nikola could have been a huge success if Musk had tweeted “Nikola to the moon”
RKGSD
Toyota and Honda have built/mass produced several hydrogen vehicles. There are public transportation buses and trash trucks running completely on natural gas. Strange that Nikola felt the need to be so deceitful with the same technology.
FantasticFaker
So is it possible to actually build a hydrogen fuel engine or did Nikola just not know how to do it?
ImAnonymous
And now the same thing is happening with another eletric car company, Rivian. A few months ago it was worth over 200 billion with 0 revenue
The Large Hardon Collider
23:50 “Investors have collectively lost their minds. It seems as if they’re only driven by lofty promises, without doing a shred of research. Everyone was just so excited, they didn’t want to dig any deeper.” Well said, I don’t know how else you could describe this insanity.
DENSMAC
How one can lie with such a straight face, buffles me
alfonso becerra
Nice to be reminded of GMs vetting process. Nothing like eventually dipping back into the tax payer capital reserve.
Freyr Skidbladnir
You have to give it to the man, he mastered gravity energy. Well 50%.
Robbe Nagel
It’s unbelievable how somebody became a billionaire without ever selling a single product. It’s equally unbelievable how credible companies invested billions without ever seeing the thing actually function. Must be a sign of the times I guess? I worry about the future of the economy with more and more cases like these happening every year…
Kunle Olomofe
Calling the guy Trevor in one sentence then Milton in the next then Trevor in the next then Milton next sentence was very confusing 😕🙄Otherwise great investigative journalism as always 👍
TechWolf Cave
Meanwhile, here we are joining startups, developing actual products, prototypes and applications just to have investors or just to show our idea is real. Yet nothing, just experience. 😂
Yusuf Domun
12:56 $0 for 1,000,000 miles 🤣. How did people fell for that BS
Ben M
I shorted NKLA from $65 to $20. Made a hell of a profit in very short order. I don’t typically go short, but wish I had gone all in. I’d be retired now.
Red Science
How didn’t he end up in jail after scamming all those companies (in the start)?
A. Eberhard
A comprehensive documentary, as always. I was familiar with most of this sham, though admittedly not the early natural gas designs for the Nikola 1. What I’d really like, which might be a bit controversial, is one of your documentaries detailing the legal differences between the [alleged] fraud committed by Theranos vs that committed by Milton. This could be particularly interesting if one is convicted and the other isn’t.
Dusty
I mean why not actually hire real researchers and engineers to produce the things he claimed, even if they were underwhelming he’d still be in business…
alladin mixtape
There should be a new law to hang the scammers if caught
Gilang
Droped out from sales marketing major and act as visionary engineer is already a red flag..
benz500r
Some entrepreneurs start businesses mot knowing how they are going to achieve their goals, even though, they take huge amounts of money from investors. Musk also did not know if Tesla was going to work (Musk wasn’t the founder). The bigger bs that Musk pulled on investors and even the government was SpaceX. He promised to take people to Mars, but there is no technology to accomplish that goal. Musk thought that his engineers were going to figure that out with time, but apparently the task is more difficult than he thought. He never admitted to his mistakes, and he still continues to make false promises. The reality is Musk has no clue how to take people beyond the Earth’s orbit.
Catalin Lartist
The same bs that most startups have in the Silicon Valley and LA. I worked for some guys called Genies and they pulled out the same bs constantly in order to get more and more investors. Straight up lies in Bloomberg and Forbes for the investors.
Robert Pirie
Hilarious that the folks who brought down a hydrogen fuel/engine scam were named “Hindenburg.”
M Woods
He wanted everyone to believe he was the next Elon Musk (A real genius who mastered rocket science by “Reading lots of books”) even the name Nickola (Tesla) was an obvious rip-off. It’s truly stunning he got as far as he did, but this sort of story keeps coming around again and again.
Tracy Tayag
What seems intuitively more likely–knowing who owns the power in the world and knowing how things in the world work–is that this man, Trevor, actually had something and that the oil and vehicle manufacturing companies which hold the power in this world shut him down; used their power to discredit him and create an artificial scandal. They would lose everything if such a venture as Trevor’s succeeded. If you understand how power works, and how people in power must maintain their power, then you are aware enough to understand that this is a very strong possibility. People with as much power and influence as the oil and motor companies of the world have can make a saint look like the devil, a devil look like a saint, the truth look like a lie and a lie look like the truth–with their power and influence, this is easily done. Anyone whom opposes such power can be made to disappear–murdered, or hidden away in fear–or even simply imprisoned with fabricated ‘evidence’. They can influence the ‘law’ to take everything away from you, they can take away or destroy everything and everyone you care for.
Autistic Ginger
Damn was really hoping this was a tutorial 😔
cantonese language
Oh the humanity! How could Milton even think he could get away with this? Did he think he could postpone a delivery date for the first truck indefinitely? An irrational investor and their money are soon parted.
F0RL0RN
If this was legit, we’d have Nikola Tesla.
thom1218
We may never know? Yeah… we do know: lying your way to 34 billion dollars and refusing to come clean after being exposed is pure greed – not “providing” for a family.
altar7
And the guy has just cashed in $317M from his shares in Nikola, ahead of his trial. He’s just fine.
MarkH10
What I find most shocking is that at the unveiling event, and especially AFTER it none of the photographers got pictures of the truck moving under it’s own power off the stage and out of the venue. NEITHER did they watch it being moved WITHOUT power, with a big group of mere stage hands pushing it around ad asking, “what is up?”. No one shadowed the truck back to wherever it is now, driving down a highway. Car model espionage photography has been around since the end of WWII, and especially prominent from the 60’s as muscle, and then aerodynamic principles started being used. Why no curiosity? Why does no one want to have unique pics of the thing? This level of curiosity would have lead to questions.
Nilon
There should be laws in place that an NDA isn’t legally binding when you become a witness of fraudulent behavior or business practices and instead a possibility to inform authorities about it with a reward system. This would just increase the likelihood of frauds being stopped earlier and it would save society a lot of damage that some shady guy earns himself millions or even billions through it.
426baron
I wonder how anyone got fooled by the 2016 presentation. I am no expert, but at the time I thought it got all the red flags : a “functionning” truck that wasn’t moving, unrealistic goals, the main guy nervously talking techno-marketing rubbish that explained nothing, bad 3D animations, and worst of all a very suspicious choice of name.
Benjamin Stewart
Has he come out of it bankrupt or did he keep the million dollar assets somehow
Festus Penda Asino
This guy is my inspiration
Meshach Foster
Unless the cost of living has skyrocketed to astronomical heights whilst i wasn’t looking, ripping off investors for billions of dollars is pure greed.
John Smith
.I like him. He showed the system is a glorified casino. GM and BP should be charged by its shareholders for not sending one person to look under the hood and take the truck for a ride.
GetSome HihiHaha
if you put any larger amount of money into a company that makes high promises without doing your research you absolutely deserve to get scammed
veespa
It’s interesting seeing the dichotomy between Dr. Ruja and Trevor Milton. Ruja made less than Milton, yet knew the writing on the wall and disappeared, whereas Milton knew he was lying, made obscene amounts of money, and still stayed around to face the music.
Bianca Baptiste
I was close to investing into this bullshit… imagine thinking someone was a saavy business man just to find out he’s a sleezy used car salesman
Geoff Phillips
Perfect description of a shell company.
Tanja Lehrer
Money is an issue that every one has for a better and luxurious life was hard for me until I started investing in Bitcoin trading and am now earning $56,435 per week with an initial capital of $13,000.
gammaraider
Because the moment anyone says “electric” or “green”, every single investor, journalist or blog creams their pants and loses the capacity for critical thought.
Del
Apparently it was real enough to start making truck deliveries last quarter. Probably only because GM is trying to recoup their investment.
leutrim topalli
The crazy thing is with all the money he raised, he could have actually developed the truck and made even more
onesoloving1
Tesla seems nearly as bad. Someone please explain to me why Tesla gets its massive valuation. Cars? Can’t get them serviced. Solar roof panels? Will never recoup the massive initial investment. Rockets? Usually straight into the ocean. Underground highway? Like a child’s coaster. What am I missing?
Geoff Wickens
Has to get you thinking of other startups … Rivian for example. Although people have seen Rivian trucks in the real world, nothing has been delivered to consumers yet. We were supposed to have ours last fall and then got pushed back to January all because of COVID. Now that Omicron is on the scene, how long will that push delays back?
Lee Gibson
I’ve heard bigger sob stories from reputable business people, if he had wanted to do anything but commit fraud he could have with that backing.
Ismail ‘Nye’ Yusof
The man was a fraudster and carnival showman rolled in one and it actually made him a couple of billions! Just shows that a great attitude (to cover up a decadent mindset) can really achieve a lot.
75echo
It is just a matter of time before all tesla owners also realise that they have been duped too because their assumed electric cars are actually powered by an army of hamsters inside the battery packs.
Thanh Truong
I was shaking my head the whole time. Anybody who has good knowledge of chemistry knows that Trevor has no idea what he was talking about. But everybody is too busy chasing the next Tesla.
Teressa Cooks
“Maybe he did this all to provide for his family that had suffered so much during those early years. But, it could have just as easily been pure greed; I guess we may never know”. Oh…I THINK WE KNOW!!!
elzo stubbe
What is really sad about this whole story, is that this guy could have been really successful in life. What you see with a person like this, that he cannot stop lying because it is all he knows. From his early days his conscience did not develop into something sane and healty.
Pete Holder
Moral of the story, crime does pay as long as its financial
taxid3rmy
A guy commits grand larceny, theft, fraud on a massive scale, likely bankrupts likely thousands of smaller investors, causes large corporate investors to lose multi-millions – with the flow on detrimental effect of hundreds of affected staff losing jobs. Naturally, he’ll get off without so much as repaying a red cent, and is living the high life somewhere under an assumed name. This is the world we live in.
Flavio Moreira
The real definition of “never back down”
Lu Fo
A warning sign is when the CEO seems more like a used car salesman than an awkward genius–of a supposedly pioneering company, no less.
Mybach Hertzbaud
As crazy as it sounds, events such as these may be the catalyst for innovation that proves worthwhile in the long run. So your investment may seem to be lost for you but, a winner for posterity😎 Still…..take his gains away😁
Barry Baker
This market lost touch with reality and rewarded this guy its craziness. The Bull market that started in March of 2020 had conditioned investors, especially people who have very little experience in stocks, to believe that stocks will always go up and that gambling on the next TESLA was a good idea.
P.T.
What if he didnt decide to defraud investors & work hard with what he had. May have been a REAL billion are.
Rick Brasche
first it was crappy golf carts hyped as electric “cars”, and now scams like this, that set the EV industry back *decades*. for that damage alone, there should be harsh penalties. An EV should be easy price parity with fuel models by now, especially in the electric motorcycle market.
DKnight
He simply scammed a bunch large companies out of billions who in return have probably scammed employees out of fair wages. Things always come full circle.
lo james
Investors be like: “Although the Engineers with years of industrial experience said it is a bad idea, but this college drop-out clearly knows better. I’m gonna give him millions dollars”
Bob Bobing
I can only imagine, what kind of resistance will face the revolutionist in that sector of technologies. Because the fuel magnates will try to do everything to make fail any man standing in their way of selling fuel, even if he wasn’t a scammer, like this one….
Ojaix
America has always loved fast-talking people even when it’s all BS. Just look at our media and politics.
Kenny Tran
As corrput as this guy is, It still takes a genius to stir this all up LOL. He scammed some smart ppl. These investment companies arent ran by idiots. Very smart ppl who fell to a really really good and precise marketing tactic. Im not saying Trevor did a good thig and I think he should go to jail for life
Pritam Bissonauth
As long as people will believe in Marketing instead of Technical literature, this will happen again!
levdan159
Isn’t it just easier to build an electric truck with $34B, instead of constructing a massive lie?
Mark Bartlett
When you understand the immutable inefficiencies of using Hydrogen fuel cells for transportation, you understand how Milton’s vapor-truck was a scam from word one. It was never going to work. I understood this from the first fawning articles that came about it, so I seriously don’t get how so many people who should have known better fell for this.
Ben
You could make an hour long video of your animations + music and it’d be amazing
Mystic_Monkey
“Humans love being lied to, but they hate finding out they’ve been lied to”
aap ka dost
He is great magician Who fools millions of people 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Alex P.
Trevor is a great American engineer, he must have also designed the F35 haha
Andi Leigh
How did this guy even think that this was going to end? I’m baffled at how dumb people were to buy into this…
Jagjeet Sihra
Incredible….just incredible in this day and age. One could write a bestseller book on this.
El Cocho
I got a buddy of mine to invest in Nikola and later told me he losing hella money 🤣
Steven Bodo
My favorite part: “Nikola continues to move forward under new management.” LOL, doing what? They have no product.
De Waard
When a company’s image is built on social media more than people actually looking at the facts, this is what happens, and what will continue to happen. Trevor May have lied about his businesses, but no one did their due diligence for fear of missing out.
99thDimension
Man that was the best comedy show I have seen in a while.
Chris Hopkins Bass
So he used to be a used car salesman? What a shocker!
Jon Craig
Drive 1,000 miles without stopping and go again after 15 minutes? That’s not revolutionary or disruptive, it’s what we have with diesel trucks. The attraction with CNG and other fuels is maintaining the range of diesel without the emissions.
ZXPLAYS354
Well. I like the interior designs and its futuristic devices but I cant accept the fraud of it.
RAZR
22:28 – A+ for creativity in Deception…
Jiv
I wish the Nikola Badger was actually a real truck it looks so cool
JOMO GEORGE JOE Sikwane
This guy is a genius, i love this guy👌😍
Ministry of WrongThink
wait wait wait. there’s no doubt that this is fraud and all… but you’re telling me there’s nothing inherently shady about known short sellers issuing/funding damning research reports against companies they’d easily profit from via shorting?? Ehh what?
Simon van Coevorden
All the Transperth busses in Western Australia run on CNG . So did a lot of vehicles in NZ before the government withdrew the subsidies.
Michplay
9:48 “it’s a fully functioning vehicle” if you are a good reporter then you would say: “okay turn it on”
Jorgidan 92
There will be a loooot of stories like this in a few years with people investing all their money on companies without caring about their valuations
our ember still burning inside
“the truck’s door even had to be taped up for the video so it wouldn’t fall off” I lost my shit😂😂