As far as charges that the video showing it rolling was faked, Nikola offers this as the best rebuttal it can muster: “Nikola never stated its truck was driving under its own propulsion in the video, although the truck was designed to do just that (as described in previous point). The truck was showcased and filmed by a third party for a commercial. Nikola described this third-party video on the Company’s social media as “In Motion.” It was never described as “under its own propulsion” or “powertrain driven.”
In Nikola’s statement, the company said it plans to cooperate with the SEC on its inquiry, and claimed it has already contacted and briefed the agency. So who’s lying? Nikola claims investors knew what its prototypes were and were not capable of, and is focusing on newer machines that it says can actually move under their own power. However, check out the original Nikola One video that’s still available on YouTube and make your own decision about whether or not that implied the truck was capable of moving on its own.