Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Electric truck maker Nikola has remedied only 40 of the 209 battery-electric trucks it recalled in August 2023 due to a battery fire risk, its latest quarterly report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed.
The report, updated as of January 31, 2025, shows the Phoenix-based startup’s in addressing the recall is much slower than expected with only three trucks fixed and re-delivered between October and December 2024.
Nikola announced in August 2023 a recall of all its 209 battery-electric trucks after a fire at its headquarters destroyed five trucks due to battery defects. As of the end of last year, the startup still had 169 trucks to fix.
The slow recall progress suggests that many customers opted to return the trucks instead of waiting for a fix. Nikola has previously stated that all customer-owned units were remedied, implying that the remaining trucks are those returned for refunds or still awaiting repair.
Late last year, at the latest earnings call, Nikola‘s management said it had redelivered 78 BEV trucks to dealers and fleet customers citing “overwhelmingly positive feedback” the major recall.
Nikola’s CFO stated later in the callthat 81 additional units still needed to be returned, with a total of 150 battery-electric trucks remaining in inventory as of the end of October.
Nikola’s stock hit an all-time low of $0.71 on Monday partially driven by an overall sell-off in the automotive industry due to the tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend.
The recall report was initially shared by the Reddit user FixMedical9278 on Saturday.
Another Recall
In November, Nikola announced a separate recall of 72 battery-electric trucks from the 2022-2023 model years due to an instrument cluster defect.
The company reported a loss from operations of $178.8 million for the quarter while reaffirming its annual guidance of delivering 300-350 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
During its third-quarter earnings report in October, Nikola posted revenue of $25.2 million, missing consensus estimates of $37.2 million. Management reported that 78 recalled battery-electric trucks had been redelivered to dealers and fleet customers, citing “overwhelmingly positive feedback.”
Last October, the company’s chief financial officer Tom Okray stated that the company had a cash runway of “five to six months,” with a monthly burn rate of $30 million to $40 million.
Last week, the California-based EV startup Mullen Automotive said it acquired a high-volume standard battery chemistry production line and an electro-dynamic shaker system from struggling truck maker Nikola. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.
The purchase follows Mullen’s September 2023 acquisition of battery production assets from Nikola’s subsidiary, Romeo Power, for about $3.5 million. That deal included equipment, inventory, and intellectual property for EV battery pack and module production.
Nikola, based in Phoenix, has been exploring strategic options, including a potential sale, partnerships, or raising additional capital, Bloomberg reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shares of EV maker Nikola had hit another record low last week, just hours after founder and former CEO Trevor Milton published another video addressing the fraud accusations from 2020.
Nearly five years ago, and less than two weeks after signing a $2 billion deal with General Motors, Milton resigned from the truck manufacturer amid a claim that he had repeatedly lied about the company’s technology.
