Electrical truck firm Nikola names its fourth CEO in as a few years

Electrical truck maker Nikola named its fourth CEO in as a few years on Friday as its tries to navigate a bunch of challenges together with depleting money reserves, provide chain constraints and a pivot to hydrogen gas cell know-how.

Shares of the Phoenix-based firm fell almost 13% in early buying and selling, after the corporate mentioned Chairman Stephen Girsky will take over the helm from Michael Lohscheller, successfully instantly.

Girsky was beforehand on the Common Motors’ board and was an adviser to the CEO and the finance chief of the Chevrolet guardian.

Lohscheller is stepping down resulting from a household well being matter and will likely be returning to Europe, the corporate mentioned. He’ll stay in an advisory capability via the top of September, it added.

Individually, Nikola reported a narrower second-quarter loss as decrease manufacturing of its Tre battery-electric vehicles within the April-June interval helped preserve prices in examine.

Nikola has been combating dwindling money reserves because it burns via money to ramp up manufacturing of its vehicles.

Its buyers in an annual shareholder assembly on Thursday, nevertheless, accredited a proposal that permits the truck maker to problem extra shares to lift funds.

The assembly was delayed twice as Nikola didn’t obtain shareholder approval for the transfer, which founder Trevor Milton opposed in his first social media submit in years.

“The corporate doesn’t want new shares, they want new management,” Milton mentioned in a LinkedIn submit in June.

Milton stepped down as CEO of the corporate in 2020 after a brief vendor Hindenburg issued a scathing report that labeled Nikola a “fraud.”

Final month, Nikola mentioned it could liquidate the property of battery maker Romeo Energy, which it acquired lower than a 12 months in the past for $144 million.

Steve Shindler, who has been a board member since 2020, will function chairman after Girsky’s appointment, the corporate mentioned on Friday.

Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Modifying by Anil D’Silva