Nikola Corp. said on Thursday the electric truck maker had reserved $125 million to fund a potential settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC said in July it had charged the company’s founder Trevor Milton for “repeatedly disseminating false and misleading information.”
The commission alleged Milton used his social media platform to repeatedly mislead investors about the electric vehicle maker’s technology and capabilities, reaping “tens of millions of dollars” as a result of his misconduct.
“With prospects of an SEC settlement, we’re looking forward to resolving the outstanding issues relating to our founder and bringing that chapter to a close,” Nikola CEO Mark Russell said in a statement on Thursday.
The SEC investigation began after a short-seller claimed that Nikola deceived investors about its business prospects. The fallout from comments Milton had made about the company’s technology and achievements had already led to negative comments from the short-seller and the cancellation of a possible partnership deal with General Motors.
Nikola said Thursday it would seek reimbursement from Milton for the costs and damages in connection to the SEC’s investigations, along with the costs of other government probes.
Bloomberg contributed to this report.