Trump pardons Nikola founder Trevor Milton, convicted of fraud over fake truck demo
Mar 28, 2025
Key Points
- Trump pardons Nikola founder Trevor Milton, convicted of securities and wire fraud for faking a truck demo video and misrepresenting the company's hydrogen technology to investors.
- Milton and his wife donated $1.8 million to a Trump fundraising committee in October; federal prosecutors sought $661 million in shareholder restitution before the pardon.
- Nikola filed for bankruptcy last month after Milton's 2020 public offering at $3.3 billion valuation collapsed, leaving shareholders with limited recovery prospects despite the restitution claim.
Summary
Trump pardoned Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who was convicted in 2022 of one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud for misrepresenting the company's zero-emission hydrogen truck technology to investors.
Milton's fraud was specific. Prosecutors showed that he created a fake demo video of a truck driving on flat ground when the vehicle was actually an inoperable prototype rolling downhill. He made false statements on podcasts and social media about the company's sales and vehicle capabilities. During trial, prosecutors portrayed him as someone who systematically duped investors.
Milton founded Nikola in his basement in 2015 and took the company public in 2020 at a $3.3 billion valuation. He resigned later that year after Hindenburg Research published a short seller's report alleging misrepresentations about the company's vehicles and hydrogen fuel production. Nikola's market value briefly exceeded Ford's before the fraud case unraveled. The company filed for bankruptcy last month.
Milton sold roughly $400 million of Nikola stock during the company's run. Federal prosecutors asked a judge to order him to pay back nearly $661 million in restitution to shareholders. The SEC sued Milton for civil securities fraud in July 2021; that case remained on hold during the criminal proceedings and is now active again.
Campaign finance records show Milton and his wife donated more than $1.8 million to a Trump fundraising committee in October. Milton's lawyer is Brad Bondi, brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi. In a video posted Thursday after receiving a call from Trump, Milton claimed the pardon righted an injustice and said "the greatest comeback story in America is about to happen."
The restitution order creates a practical recovery problem. With $400 million in proceeds from stock sales already spent or given away and facing a $661 million judgment, Milton could declare personal bankruptcy. Assets like a house might be seized, but money donated to political campaigns is already beyond reach. Shareholders have limited recourse.
The pardon fits a broader pattern. Trump has pardoned or sought to pardon multiple figures prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, including Devon Archer (Hunter Biden business partner), Ross Ulbricht (Silk Road founder), and is pushing to drop a bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The administration frames this as correcting prosecutorial overreach, though Trump himself faces dismissed federal indictments and is appealing a state conviction.
Milton is 42 and could attempt another venture in hardware or hard tech.