GM rethinks planned stake in electric vehicle maker Nikola

General Motors will never be taking a stake on the electric vehicle company Nikola, and the business said Monday that it was scuttling among its marquee vehicles, a power and hydrogen-powered pickup, just after GM pulled technical support from the job.

Shares of Nikola plunged 24%.

Nikola on Monday released updated terms between your companies for a supply agreement linked to GM's fuel-cell program, replacing an arrangement signed found in September. That deal could have given GM an 11% stake in Nikola.

The first agreement would likewise have allowed Nikola to use GM’s latest battery electric truck underpinnings for its electric and hydrogen-powered pickup called the Badger, and its fuel cell and battery technology aswell. That is no more part of the arrangement, essentially gutting Nikola's ideas for the Badger.

Nikola said Mon that it'll begin refunding deposits created by customers who wanted initial dibs on that pickup.

“The bottom line is, the signing of GM as being somebody is a positive but finally no ownership/collateral stake in Nikola and the vast amounts of R&D potentially nowadays off the table is a major negative blow to the Nikola account," said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. “This proceeded to go from a casino game changer offer for Nikola to an excellent supply partnership but nothing to write home about."

There have been hints that the partnership was going sideways in later September just as a deadline for an binding agreement approached. GM said after that that negotiations about its $2 billion purpose were ongoing, mailing shares of Nikola sliding.

That announcement came only days after Nikola founder and Chairman Trevor Milton resigned after Hindenburg Research, a company that’s betting Nikola stock will drop, accused Nikola of Fraud.

Hindenburg said Nikola’s victory was a great “intricate fraud,” including a video showing a pickup truck rolling downhill to provide the impression it was cruising on a good highway, and stenciling what “hydrogen electric” privately of a car that was first actually powered by gas.

Nikola denies the allegations and called them misleading. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Division are reportedly investigating.

On Mon, GM spokesman Jim Cain said the revised arrangement is extra focused. He stated the brand new memorandum of understanding can help Nikola produce its industrial trucks, and support GM commercialize its petrol cell technology.

Nikola said Monday that its work on heavy trucks can continue. GM it's still part of a worldwide supply agreement that could integrate GM’s Hydrotec fuel-cell program into Nikola’s professional semi-trucks.

“Heavy trucks stay our core business and we are 100% centered on hitting our production milestones to bring tidy hydrogen and battery-electric professional trucks to market," said CEO Mark Russell.

Nikola is situated in Phoenix.