The Nikola Corp. saga took a new turn Thursday night when Trevor Milton, founder and former executive chairman and CEO of Nikola, was issued a full and unconditional pardon by President Donald Trump.
Milton founded Nikola in 2014 and later led a SPAC-backed initial public offering in June 2020. The electric truck maker was once valued at $30 billion and had a multibillion-dollar contract with General Motors in place.
However, Nikola’s and Milton’s fortunes reversed following fraud allegations against Milton by short-seller Hindenburg Research in September 2020. Shortly after, Milton resigned from the company and was later convicted of securities and wire fraud in 2022.
Milton was sentenced to four years in prison in December 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for making false and misleading statements to retail investors to drive demand for the stock.
Milton appealed the conviction and was allowed to remain free on bail with no surrender date.
In a post on the X platform, Milton said Trump personally called to inform him of the pardon. Milton added, “This pardon is not just about me — it’s about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that’s a lot of people. It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing . … I saw firsthand the tactics they use to guarantee convictions. I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for his courage in standing up for what is right and for granting me this sacred pardon of innocence.”
Today I was issued a full and unconditional pardon by @realDonaldTrump himself. He called me personally to tell me.
— Trevor Milton (@nikolatrevor) March 28, 2025
This pardon is not just about me—it’s about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that’s a lot of people. It is no wonder… pic.twitter.com/qpT0jjI6Fy
The pardon was part of a larger effort outlined in Trump’s second inaugural address, where the president pledged to end what he saw as the political weaponization of the Justice Department.
The Southern District of New York and its high conviction rate were cited as additional reasons, with 94.3% of cases tried in the court resulting in guilty pleas and only 5.7% going to trial, according to 2023 data.
The release adds, “The striking similarities between Milton’s case and those brought against President Trump highlight systemic issues within the justice system, particularly within the Southern District of New York.”
The company Milton founded, Nikola Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection in February.
The release notes that Milton is set to launch a documentary titled “The Trevor Milton Saga: Conviction or Conspiracy.”
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