Electric heavy truck maker Nikola (NASDAQ: NKLA) closed a chapter from its sordid past today, and investors are cheering the win. Shares soared more than 20% Tuesday morning and remained higher by 17.3% at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Nikola has been working to improve its balance sheet ahead of the initial deliveries of the company's flagship hydrogen fuel cell electric semi trucks. It announced the official commercial launch of those vehicles at its Arizona facility late last month. But it has also been diligently working to build its cash position, as it will probably generate revenue from those trucks slowly.
Today, the company boosted its balance sheet in a more unexpected way. Nikola announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that it has won a $165 million settlement from a lawsuit against founder and former executive chairman Trevor Milton. Milton was convicted of one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud last year. Nikola sought to win damages as well as recover costs related to actions Milton has been charged with by government and regulatory authorities.
Source Fool.com