Trevor Milton Leaves Nikola Motors

Nikola Corporation NKLA Executive Chairman Trevor Milton has voluntarily left his role at the electric vehicle maker, the company announced early Monday. FreightWaves earlier reported the news, citing anonymous sources.

What Happened: Stephen Girsky, former Vice Chairman of General Motors Co. GM has been appointed the new Chairman of the Board.

"Nikola is truly in my blood and always will be, and the focus should be on the Company and its world-changing mission, not me," Milton said.

"So I made the difficult decision to approach the Board and volunteer to step aside as Executive Chairman. Founding Nikola and growing it into a company that will change transportation for the better and help protect our world's climate has been an incredible honor."

Why It Matters: Milton has been under fire lately after Hindenburg Research published a report, claiming multiple examples of fraud at the company.

Milton has been fighting back rumors that Nikola does not currently have a functioning hydrogen fuel cell semi-truck.

In the past few days, the EV maker's founder has been silent on Twitter after offering the company's response to the fraud claims, with reports suggesting that both the United States Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are probing the allegations made by the short seller.

BREAKING: FreightWaves reporting "Trevor Milton has resigned as Executive Chairman of Nikola Motors NKLA and has departed the company effective immediately."

We think this is just the beginning. $NKLAhttps://t.co/vAJYzCCHlB

— Hindenburg Research (@HindenburgRes) September 21, 2020

Milton will remain as one of the company’s largest shareholders, but will not manage the company from now on.

Editor's Note: This story was updated to reflect a statement from Nikola.

Photo courtesy of Nikola Motors