The CEO of Nikola, a U.S. electric vehicle company embroiled in a fraud controversy, voluntarily resigned, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 4th (local time). According to the report, Michael Lohscheller, Nikola's CEO, stepped down voluntarily due to family health reasons. It has been seven months since he took office as CEO of Nikola in January.
Lohscheller, who previously served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Volkswagen's U.S. division and CEO of the German automaker Opel, was expected to overcome Nikola's severe management crisis due to his extensive experience in the automotive industry.
However, Nikola's situation is worsening. According to Nikola on the same day, the loss in the second quarter of this year was $217.8 million, surpassing the loss of $173 million in the second quarter of last year. Sales also decreased to $15.4 million compared to $18.1 million in the same period last year.
Nikola's stock price has also fallen by 57% over the past 12 months. Founded in 2015, Nikola attracted attention as the "second Tesla" by announcing plans to manufacture and sell large trucks powered by electric batteries and hydrogen fuel.
However, after it was revealed that founder Trevor Milton (41) produced a video that staged a truck, which was essentially a shell, rolling down a hill to make it appear as if it was driving under its own power, deceiving investors, the stock price plummeted. Milton was later convicted on charges including securities fraud.
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