Nikola Motors

Pablo Koziner, Nikola’s president of energy, talks about the Inflation Reduction Act and how his company is working to produce and sell the fuel for long-distance trucks in North America.

Inside this edition: Getting ahead of claims, the task force with the hottest acronym, and someone just leveled up.

TuSimple co-founder Mo Chen launches Hydron, an autonomous trucking venture that would use hydrogen fuel to achieve zero emissions.

Nikola is helping to bring electric infrastructure companies to the Arizona desert where it has begun production of electric trucks.

Truck Talk brings perspective, context and commentary to the trucking industry ecosystem.

Top 10 lists dominate the end of any year. FreightWaves’ Top 10 stories list is voted on throughout the year by readers simply by reading our stories on www.freightwaves.com. Here are the stories you read the most in 2020.

In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, truckers hauling produce are collecting rates never-before-seen in December. Plus, construction continues on Nikola’s electric truck assembly plant and warehouse space remains red-hot.

In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, Nikola founder Trevor Milton can start selling his shares on Monday. Plus, what roles PACs play for transportation stakeholders and how diesel supporters feel about a Joe Biden presidency.

Daimler Truck and Volvo Group expect to hit the ground running in their fuel cell joint venture. Volvo is buying Daimler’s expertise and helping offset the development cost of the zero-emissions technology while the rivals will compete in producing hydrogen-powered trucks.

In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, electric driveline manufacturer Hyliion officially became a public company on Friday. Plus, Uber Freight secures $500 million in funding and trucking’s recovery continued in September.

Late Sunday night, FreightWaves broke the story of Trevor Milton voluntarily stepping down from the Nikola Motor (NASDAQ:NKLA) board. A few hours later, Nikola Motor made the resignation official in a press release: Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) today announced that Trevor Milton approached the Board of Directors and proposed to voluntarily step aside as Executive […]

Elon Musk is not happy with Bill Gates. Three weeks after the Microsoft (MFST) co-founder raised questions in a blog post about the viability of electric trucks, the Tesla (TSLA) CEO said he thinks Gates “has no clue.” In a tweet posted Saturday, Musk, the world’s fourth-richest man, expressed his feelings about the man two […]

In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, General Motors and Nikola Corp. strike a deal for fuel cells; diesel engines are a big winner from the fallout of the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal; and trucking’s exemption from AB5 could be at risk.

Kevin and I are joined again by Ben Gordon, Managing Partner and CEO, Cambridge Capital and BGSA, to discuss the importance of the Nikola-GM partnership. We also debate whether there will be demand for exoskeletons in warehouses, as well as the role SoftBank is playing in the current tech “bubble.” Thanks as always to our […]

The country’s largest brewer is transitioning more than 180 trucks in its Houston and St. Louis fleets to renewable natural gas to help reduce its carbon footprint.

In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, 15 states push adoption of zero-emissions trucks, C.H. Robinson and Microsoft work to digitize the supply chain, and what did Nikola Tesla really know?

Nikola won’t have its battery-electric Badger pickup for sale until sometime in 2022, but it’s following rival Tesla in building buzz by taking matchable $5,000 deposits ahead of announcing a manufacturing partner.

Auto brands are fighting tooth and nail for market share.

Surging shares in electric Class 8 truck maker Nikola Corp. could help show the way for other high-tech transportation companies this year.

Daimler Trucks AG is creating a fuel cell subsidiary as a forerunner to a 50-50 joint venture with Volvo Group to make fuel cell-powered backup systems for data centers and eventually hydrogen-fueled heavy-duty trucks.

Nikola CEO Trevor Milton dials in, plus supply chain leaders give guidance on diversity

Nikola Corp. filled VectoIQ’s $230 million public shell company after former Wall Street analyst and General Motors executive Steve Girsky shopped more than 100 smart transportation companies and signed 75 nondisclosure agreements and six letters of intent.

The choice depends on the lane, the freight and the rate.

After shunning public ownership, fuel cell truck startup Nikola watched as the WeWork debacle made private fundraising harder. Its merger with VectoIQ brings in about $700 million to help pay to build Nikola’s Class 8 truck plant and the beginning of a hydrogen fuel station network.

Honda and Isuzu said Wednesday they will work together to apply Honda R&D expertise in fuel cells to Isuzu trucks in Japan.

The interior of the Nikola Two semi-tractor takes cues from modern airplane cockpits.

German auto suppliier Robert Bosch combines an LCD panel, a driver-monitoring camera and facial tracking software to create a Virtual Visor that dramatically reduce sun glare for drivers.

Hydrogen fuel cell electric truck maker Nikola Motor and Chinese battery-electric truck maker BYD teamed up to make an emissions-free beer delivery to the arena where the NHL Champion St. Louis Blues play hockey.

Trump administration divvies up 55 BUILD grants among 35 states

With diesel fuel powering 97% of all heavy-duty trucks, it seems silly to predict its industry dominance will end. But don’t tell that to California where the good can be the enemy of the great.

Camera monitoring systems could eventually replace bulky exterior mirrors on Class 8 trucks. Stoneridge Inc. and Robert Bosch are the only two suppliers deep into the safety and fuel-saving technology so far.

Hyundai Motor Co. is expanding its fuel cell ambitions to heavy-duty trucks and trailers with a pair of concepts for next week’s North American Commercial Vehicle show in Atlanta.

Nikola Corp. revealed two more funding sources of its heavy-duty fuel cell truck on Thursday, September 5. German supplier Robert Bosch LLC and South Korean solar panel maker Hanwha Group each invested at least $100 million cash in earlier funding rounds.

Nikola executive Elizabeth Fretheim’s journey to a company developing zero-emissions trucks had an unlikely start in Canada’s oilpatch.

Nikola Motors has the potential to disrupt the freight industry by building hydrogen fuel powered trucks and by setting up hydrogen fuel stations all across North America.

This year will see Volvo and Daimler put electric Class 8 trucks to test, as start-ups still have few commercially available models.

Nikola Motors is setting up its hydrogen truck manufacturing plant in Arizona, which is expected to roughly bring  about 2,000 jobs by 2024.

“It’s an elegant, beautiful, simple solution for storing energy, so much better than batteries. You break down water; you put it back together.”

Funding announced as investment heats up for low-carbon fuel technology.

The Nikola Motor Company announced that Mark Russell has joined its executive management team as president. According to Nikola’s press release, Russell will manage the company’s production of new zero-emission vehicles.

Nikola Motor Company raised over $100 million in August, and the company’s CEO Trevor Milton expects its $200 million C round to be oversubscribed. Nikola boasts a $1.1 billion pre-money valuation.

Toyota Motor has been testing a Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell truck in port operations in California, but yesterday it took that program to the next level with introduction of Version 2 of the truck with more range and other features.

After reviewing 30 site locations, Nikola Motor Co. has announced that Buckeye, AZ – just outside Phoenix – will be the location for its manufacturing headquarters.

A quote by Oren Harari sums up a lot of how CEO Trevor Milton feels about Nikola has achieve with the hydrogen fuel-cell electric semi: “The electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles.”

The biggest hurdle to overcome is the long-distance infrastructure of superchargers.

FreightWaves’ readers made the past year a great one for our young brand. Today, we take a fond look back at your favorite articles from 2017.

Global technology company Wabco Holdings has acquired a 1% equity stake in Nikola Motor Company with a $10 million investment. Nikola is designing a hydrogen-electric Class 8 truck.

Thor describes themselves as a “transportation lab with a goal of tackling fleet management problems.”

General Motors has advanced its next-generation fuel cell system, which is part of its concept SURUS (Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure) platform that was shown last week at the fall meeting of the Association of the United States Army. Whether commercial transportation is willing to adopt fuel cell technology, though, remains a question.

As Nikola Motor continues to develop its hydrogen-electric Class 8 tractor, the company continues to evolve its design. The latest is the introduction of an eAxle developed by Bosch.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg visited the Iowa 80 truck stop last week, taking time to talk to truck drivers and learn about life on the road. Also, Amazon wants to build a drone platform, a lack of warehouse space and J.B. Hunt tests augmented reality.