(Adds Hindenburg officials declined to comment in paragraph 6)
By Ben Klayman
DETROIT, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Nikola Corp Chief
Executive Mark Russell said Wednesday he is confident the
electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle startup will close a
deal with an energy partner, and he defended the company's
technology and strategy against a short-seller's fraud
allegations, sending shares up almost 21% at one point.
Russell told Reuters he is confident Nikola will still
announce by year-end a collaboration to build hydrogen-refueling
stations. There have been reports this week that Nikola's talks
with energy firms, including BP Plc, had stalled.
"We've talked to all of those folks and those discussions
are continuing," he said in an interview. "We're confident that
we're still going to hit the milestones laid out there of
announcing a partner by the end of the year and getting stations
going starting next year."
Short-seller Hindenburg Research released a scathing report
on Sept. 10 that called Nikola a "fraud" and said Nikola founder
and former Executive Chairman Trevor Milton had made false
claims about Nikola's proprietary technology.
Milton resigned and left the company on Sept. 21 and was
replaced by Steve Girsky, whose firm took Nikola public earlier
this year through a reverse merger.
Nikola has said it has discussed Hindenburg Research's
charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission and will
"fully cooperate" with the agency's inquiry. Russell and Girsky
on Wednesday declined to comment on probes by securities
regulators or the Department of Justice. Hindenburg officials
declined to comment.
Nikola's shares have lost more than half their value since
announcing on Sept. 8 a prospective alliance with General Motors
Co to produce an electric pickup and fuel cell commercial
trucks.
On Wednesday, Nikola stepped up its efforts to regain
investor support with a lengthy statement defending its business
model and technology. It reaffirmed its timetable for launching
vehicles and announcing partnerships.
Nikola said it still expects to break ground on its first
commercial hydrogen station in the second quarter of 2021.
Girsky, who joined Russell in the interview, said Nikola
will be as much a service provider, generating revenue from
refueling and other after-sale businesses, as a manufacturer of
vehicles.
"Downstream revenue is more profitable and less cyclical. To
be able to capture that revenue is pretty powerful to us,"
Girsky said.
Russell said talks continue to finalize an alliance with GM
but declined further comment. Nikola had previously said it
expected to finalize terms prior to Sept. 30.
GM also affirmed Wednesday that the talks with Nikola
continue.
Russell said Nikola's success did not depend on partners,
but they "increase the odds of succeeding."
JP Morgan analyst Paul Coster said in a research note Nikola
is trying to "re-establish control of the narrative around the
company." He said closing the GM deal is the most important
near-term catalyst and Nikola's strategy remains compelling
although execution risks remain.
Nikola shares rose as high as $21.59 and were still up 17.5%
at $21.02 in afternoon trading.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman and Joseph White;
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker)
BP (BP.)
