Nikola Corporation (NKLA) Options

"about 40% using your numbers"

well they arent really MY numbers...they are numbers taken from the article in another posters link...

"they have increased production each and every quarter for four quarters"

sure...but the numbers we are talking about are peanuts...they delievered 88 trucks in Q3...and that was a record?...of course there is always the possibility that Q4 could be another record breaker with 89 trucks sold...i suppose...for whatever that would be worth...

but here is the big problem:

"The average selling price for its Tre FCEV fuel-cell electric trucks in the fourth quarter of last year was $351,000, but they cost $679,000 each to produce during the same period, according to Nikola."

the trucks are being sold for about half what it costs to make them...can nkla afford to make and sell a thousand of them?...is increasing the amount of trucks sold every quarter a good thing?...

some have said nkla's new trucks will be 50% cheaper to make...so then they can make and sell trucks for a breakeven price??...is this good business?..isnt the goal of business to make money?...

"and I hope/expect this increase in production will continue despite all your wise words"

i dont know that selling even MORE trucks at a huge loss is a solution to anything...or even a good thing....

solid arguments on paper --- yet despite the reduction in force - about 40% using your numbers - they have increased production each and every quarter for four quarters

hmm - logical words I must admit on one hand - generalizations as they are

reality of increased production of trucks with consistently fewer employees on the other hand

I think i will choose what has happened - hand two - and I hope/expect this increase in production will continue despite all your wise words

we know from the earnings Q&A that they have a need for c $100m a quarter and they plan to have cash for 3-4 quarters.

yes every FCEV sold needs $$ so they have to be very strategic in who gets them - with a goal of them securing volume commitments for 2025/6 delivery

The FCEV 2.0 system due in mid 2025 will be significantly (like 50%) cheaper to build. I am interested to know who will supply the Fuel cell I have a feeling Bosche is not the suppler.

The layoffs may be a reflection of the need to limit production to save cash or due to supply chain issues (Battery in particular). It is odd since they just recruited 40 staff for the factory

It helps in that there are, under the Volvo brand, a number of alternative sites to manufacture the battery packs if it should be needed. But will take time for them to be tooled.

Pretty sure Greer SouthCarolina is still their assembly plant for Nikola packs which are of course unique . How long it would take to get another Volvo site to be able to manufacture is a question to be asked.

Also where are Nikola in selecting alternative suppliers with a view to 2.0 trucks and more resilient supply chains

Either way there will be a break for a few weeks I suspect so what their inventory was like will dictate the Q4 manufacturing numbers - they may hold back BEVs to send out FCEV as they require fewer packs.

The PR for the Take over in Feb 2024 sates:
The acquisition, which was made at a purchase price of USD 210M before adjustment for inventory level at closing, includes a development center for battery modules and packs in California and an assembly factory in Greer, South Carolina.
“These assets and the skills and competence of the Proterra team are a great complement to our current footprint and enables us to accelerate our battery-electric roadmap even further,” says Lars Stenqvist, CTO Volvo Group.
Volvo intends to run Proterra as a going concern and deliver to selected customers.
The transaction has no material impact on the Volvo Group financial performance.

“NKLA is expecting - planning on - hoping for - noticeable growth in number of trucks sold per quarter while having less expense”

Things like growth and more production generally requires more employees,…not less…

One and a half years ago, Nkla had almost 900 employees…now they have 400 less employees…in order to reduce expenses…but they are growing and increasing production?…

Clearly what production they have is not close to what was expected…and probably not nearly what is needed…and there is nothing in the near future that could prevent the layoffs…

Scaling your business way down and laying off employees while increasing production means things are not going as expected and won’t for the foreseeable future…

Nkla put a nice spin on things…employees are the biggest expense for any company but they are also their greatest asset…

No matter how it is spun by the company, laying off 45% of your workforce is NOT an indication of growth…neither currently or in the future…

And still they will need hundreds of millions of dollars more?…

“That 200MM -- a guesstimate - is a drop in the bucket if sales continue to grow and grow”

It seems to me that any growth will be a drop in the bucket…
















“we must scale our business appropriately for the future“

UK, per the following January 2024 article, Volvo bought Proterra. A more recent article says that Volvo does not manufacture batteries in Charleston, South Carolina, or anywhere else in the US. The same article mentions that Proterra gets batteries from South Korean company LG, which has a plant in Michigan. Does this alleviate you concerns regarding the factory supplying Nikolas batteries (for both BEV and FCEV) being impacted by Helene?

Here’s where the US stands on EV battery production, a year after the Inflation Reduction Act was signed
July 20, 2024
https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/20/tracking-the-ev-battery-factory-construction-boom-across-north-america/

Volvo
Volvo has a battery assembly factory in Charleston, South Carolina, but the automaker does not manufacture batteries or battery components there. Volvo would not confirm any other plans it has for battery production in North America.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/20/tracking-the-ev-battery-factory-construction-boom-across-north-america/

LG Energy Solution
South Korea’s LG Energy Solution supplies EV batteries to automakers like Tesla, Lucid Motors, Toyota and Proterra. The battery maker has joint ventures to build battery factories with General Motors, Honda, Hyundai and Stellantis.

In early 2023, LG said it would quintuple the capacity of its existing lithium-ion cell plant in Michigan, which was built in 2010, as part of a deal with Toyota LG’s Holland factory makes large polymer battery cells, or pouch type cells, and packs for EVs. The expanded plant will produce new long cell design batteries, which LG says should add more range, better storage, and a more simplified pack structure.

Volvo completes acquisition of battery business from Proterra Inc. and Proterra Operating Company
2024-02-01
https://www.volvogroup.com/en/news-and-media/news/2024/feb/volvo-completes-acquisition-of-battery-business-from-proterra-inc--and-proterra-operating-company.html

yes
NKLA is expecting - planning on - hoping for - noticeable growth in number of trucks sold per quarter while having less expense . That is not a knock it is an effort to be supported by equity holders

And it seems obvious - at least to me - that NKLA will need at least 200MM in some sort of cash harvesting --- be it with sale of equity or taking on new added debt if there are lenders

That 200MM -- a guesstimate - is a drop in the bucket if sales continue to grow and grow - with reduced or level expenses

"adjusting and rescaling our staffing needs"

translation = yes, we are dumping employees...

why?

"to ensure long-term viability and maintain our first-mover advantage, we must scale our business appropriately for the future”.

translation = our business is going to slow down so we dont need all those employees...second possible or additional translation = we are running out of cash and need to dump employees to save money and make the remaining employees work harder for the same amount of money...otherwise the company runs out of cash and NOBODY has a job...

"To extend our runway, we are adjusting and rescaling our staffing needs. This is a difficult, but necessary, decision"

translation = we are low on fuel (cash) and are dumping employees to lighten up the load and give us more runway so hopefully we wont crash and burn...

so first its heard that there is damage to the factory where Nkla gets their batteries...the damage occurred from hurricane helene that hit over 2 weeks ago...and today layoffs are announced at Nkla....

sounds like Nkla is going to have serious trouble getting their hands on enough batteries for quite some time...

or Nkla doesnt anticipate selling a whole lot of vehicles for whatever reason...

either way...it aint good news...

I was hoping someone would provide that answer as I was busy yesterday

I think it is Proterra and only Proterra (although LG may be in the mix).
If so then there is probably truth in this rumor.

Their factory is inGreer South Carolina just North West of Greenville and on the down slope from Ashville.

ope no one lost heir lives there but would be nice to get an update - I assume an analyst will ask at the earnings presentation if not before.

Bruno, is that good or bad for investors? Obviously bad for the people getting layed off.

Oct 12, 2024 : Nikola Starts New Lay Off Round Despite Hitting Sales Record

https://eletric-vehicles.com/nikola/nikola-starts-new-lay-off-round-despite-hitting-sales-record/

UK, who is supplying batteries to Nikola? Is it Volvo? Are they the only supplier? Everyone else feel free to chime in.

Seen some posts on Social media that the factory supplying Nikolas batteries (for both BEV and FCEV) is impacted by Helene. Based in the Carolinas the factory was damaged and some staff are homeless so not working.
Anyone else able to confirm or put more details on this?
I know they have supply chain issues and I guess alternative battery supply is one of them

Oct 10, 2024 : GTS GROUP https://gtstrucks.com/ JOINS NIKOLA DEALERSHIP NETWORK

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gts-group-joins-nikola-dealership-network-302272930.html

California HVIP voucher data updated to the end of September. Following are snapshots of the NKLA redeemed and unredeemed vouchers as of the end of September vs. end of August 2024.
Link https://californiahvip.org/impact/#deployed-vehicle-mapping-tool

Redeemed Vouchers for September (top) vs. August (Bottom)





=======================================================

Unredeemed Vouchers for September (top) vs. August (Bottom)

New cliënt : https://www.westcoastwarehouse.com/

Press release Purina : https://newscenter.purina.com/2024-10-08-Nestle-Purina-PetCare-Debuts-Use-of-Hydrogen-Fuel-Cell-Electric-Semi-Truck-in-California

Nikola Announces Two New Clients for Its Hydrogen and BEV Trucks
9th October 2024

https://eletric-vehicles.com/nikola/nikola-announces-two-new-clients-for-its-hydrogen-and-bev-trucks/

Repost from PLUG board, courtesy of uksausage.

What caught my eye is the customer - Purina. PLUG has been targeting the pet supply food chain for material handling due to the nature of the products - large heavy pallets moved by fork lifts everywhere.
Unless they are the new US customer we never found out about Nikola has beaten PLUG to them.

Currently, Jack, one truck is better than 10 for NKLA as they get more trials going with V 1.0 which loses $100k (?) per truck but lines up early orders and commitments for V2.0 in H2 2025 which will be profitable. Start with 1, then with 5-10 and then wait for the big commitment when V2.0 is available.
Girsky has better business mind than Andy IMHO

Henry Ma, of Accelera by Cummins (a leading engine and electrolyzer manufacturer with a long track record of projects around the world), presented earlier today at the Mission Hydrogen webinar. Henry was very optimistic on the future of hydrogen, and expects the market for electrolyzers to grow substantially over the next 5 years (refer to the slides below).

Nestle is a giant

inch by inch -- foot by foot - yard by yard

Starting at Nestle is big (and I wonder - frankly - why they did not start in Europe with IVECO -- likely the $ incentive in the USA played a role)

ONE TRUCK !


Stop the Presses !

Huge news.

Bruno, nice find. Another satisfied customer, willing perhaps to pay a little bit more in order to reduce its carbon footprint (one NKLA truck is equivalent to eliminating the pollution of 23 cars).

Key quotes:

"This truck represents an exciting opportunity to test new technology and determine if it's feasible to scale."

"According to Nikola, one truck avoids 97 metric tons of CO2 tailpipe emissions per year on average — the equivalent of taking 23 passenger vehicles off the road for a year." (Source https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator)

Nestlé Purina PetCare, in collaboration with The Kenan Advantage Group, Inc. (KAG) and Nikola Corporation, launched its first zero-tailpipe-emission delivery with the use of a hydrogen fuel cell electric semi-truck this week.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nestle-purina-petcare-debuts-use-of-hydrogen-fuel-cell-electric-semi-truck-in-california-302270491.html

You missed out on more than $1.5...yet you are still here crying about your losses here.

Big Oil Urges Trump Not to Gut Biden’s Climate Law
Story by Collin Eaton, Benoît Morenne • 1d

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/big-oil-urges-trump-not-to-gut-biden-s-climate-law/ar-AA1rLuX7

Posted 15 min ago.

No…I’ll leave the few pennies a day swings here to big money players like you…lol

I said Nkla would continue to drop…and then I called it when it was ready to bounce up a bit…but the fact is, Nkla was 6 bucks a share last month and is now $5 per share…I guess that makes some giddy but I don’t see it lasting very long…the bounce may have already run it’s course…and it only had one day that would have been worth it for me to trade…

But I have another stock that has been working out very well for me…the volatility is much better, the swings bigger, the volume is bigger and has doubled…and the pps has doubled in the last month…

And there are a few others just as good…but I can’t trade them all…

I don’t have the power to move stocks…I just call them as I see them..sophisticated investors already know this…

Did you start a position in the low 4's and flip in the 5's for this non-trading stock?...lol...which was your plan all along.

“the first version was NOT what the Congress wanted and what is in the law. That's the problem.”

The law required the Treasury Dept to create guidelines and rules that companies had to comply with in order to qualify for the money…the implementation of the law is up to the Treasury Dept…and they did what they did…

“The administration cannot change the laws.”

The Treasury Dept did what they were supposed to do based on other existing laws, rules and regulations…

“The Supreme Court confirmed that.”

The Supreme Court said that judges no longer have to defer to Federal Agencies on certain decisions…they did not take away the Federal Agencies authority to do their job…

“So he administration HAS to move the proposed regulations closer to the stated law”

Why only “closer”?…if the supremes said said that Federal Agencies must do exactly what congress wants, then why only “closer”?….

Because that’s not what reversing the Chevron Doctrine does…

“or be hit by lots of lawsuits.”

Oh well…I’m pretty sure the Treasury Dept has a lawyer of two…THATS when we will see what the reversal of the Chevron Doctrine did…

But what it didn’t do, was take away the authority of the Federal Agencies to do their jobs…

the first version was NOT what the Congress wanted and what is in the law. That's the problem.

The administration cannot change the laws.

The Supreme Court confirmed that.

So he administration HAS to move the proposed regulations closer to the stated law or be hit by lots of lawsuits.

"no way to know what they think about"

they took years to come up with how they wanted the 45v implemented..some didnt like it and they were asked to take another try at it...i seriously doubt its going to change much...

there is a VERY good way to know what they think about it...look at the first version of the rules they created for the 45v...THAT'S what they wanted...THAT'S what they think about it...

someone with clout will have to MAKE them make serious changes to something they already worked years to come up with...

we will see

no way to know what they think about and what is standard boiler plate or CYA wording

"while adhering to the law’s emissions standards, including the requirement to consider indirect emissions."

hmmmm...sounds like they are really not going to give in much...just going to change a few things peripherally and say "see, we compromised"...

Oct 2, 2024 : NIKOLA RECORDS SALES OF 88 HYDROGEN-POWERED CLASS 8 TRUCKS FOR NORTH AMERICAN CUSTOMERS IN Q3 2024; 200 TOTAL SOLD THIS YEAR

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nikola-records-sales-of-88-hydrogen-powered-class-8-trucks-for-north-american-customers-in-q3-2024-200-total-sold-this-year-302265198.html

Remarks by Aviva Aron-Dine, Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, on Phase Four of Implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Clean Energy Provisions
October 1, 2024
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2625

Key quote:

"We also know that clean hydrogen will be critical for reducing emissions from hard-to-decarbonize sectors in heavy industry, and we recognize that the clean hydrogen industry needs certainty. We intend to finalize rules for the section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Credit by the end of the year. As we continue to review and evaluate the nearly 30,000 comments received on the proposed rules, we are working to include appropriate adjustments and additional flexibilities to help grow the industry and move projects forward, while adhering to the law’s emissions standards, including the requirement to consider indirect emissions."

88 FCEV delivered in Q3
https://www.nikolamotor.com/nikola-records-sales-of-88-hydrogen-powered-class-8-trucks-for-north-american-customers-in-q3-2024-200-total-sold-this-year?utm_content=310255781&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&hss_channel=lcp-15252329

I don't have access to this Seeking Alpha article posted today because I don't have a paying account, however, the Google search provided the following summary.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4724499-plug-power-is-a-strong-buy-as-the-number-of-hydrogen-powered-vehicles-looks-poised-to-surge

"Recent news suggests that the number of hydrogen vehicles will grow significantly, boosting Plug Power's electrolyzer and hydrogen fuel businesses in the long term. Accelerating e-commerce growth positively impacts Plug Power's material-handling business, enhancing its revenue potential."

Exactly. So, please stop playing pretend and make believe.

Lol

Linkedin post.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gio-marz-4820421b2_nikolatrucks-sustainability-hydrogenpower-activity-7246875899118137344-ltPX/

Gio Marz
TALON LOGISTICS
39 minutes ago

Accelerating Towards a Sustainable Future

We're excited to expand our fleet with new hydrogen-powered trucks, taking another step towards greener logistics. The Nikola trucks in this photo represent not only a commitment to reducing emissions but also a future where transportation is cleaner and more efficient.

Hydrogen fuel technology allows us to significantly cut down our carbon footprint while maintaining high performance on the road. It's a game-changer in our efforts to embrace sustainability while keeping our operations smooth and reliable.

Looking forward to seeing the impact these vehicles will have in driving cleaner and smarter business operations.

Want a ride?!?! Send me a Direct Message!!!

Repost from Stocktwits board.

Posted 4 hrs ago.

September 27, 2024 : J.B. Hunt Adds 20 Additional Nikola FCEVs to Expand Sustainability Solutions for Customers

https://www.jbhunt.com/our-company/newsroom/2024/09/jbht-adds-additional-nikola-fcevs

AAFAIK the 20 new FCEV have been delivered - there were pictures on X of them lined up but they may be waiting for the final JB Hunt wrap before going out to work.
the original ones were almost a year ago so well proven, suspect this size second order is timed with the availability of more stations in southern california.

looking for well over 100 deliveries this quarter and news of FECV 2.0 which will be 50% cheaper to build

GREAT
Seems - from reading ? - they now have 3 ? (ANYONE?)

but they have had them for a while !!! and would not order 7X more if they were not happy !!!!!!!!

(and HYLA is involved and yup - a bunch is DRAYAGE which seems a strong niche)

"30 cents on 10,000 shares is $3k in a day. Rinse and repeat once a week"

but you just said you dont trade the stock...and no one buys at the very bottom and sells at the very top...you would know that if you were actually a trader...you really need to stop googling "how to trade"...you are looking more foolsih with every post...

think ill just have to ignore you...you really have no clue about investing or trading at all...you are exactly what i said...a disgruntled nkla bagholder who is fearful of any negative opinions on a message board who doesnt understand that nothing said on a message board moves th pps...

ill repeat that again for your edification...NO OPINIONS posted on a message board moves the pps...NONE...and theres no need to pretend to be something you are so obviously not...

"Actually, I trade options. I don't need to take a position in the stock to make money."

here we go...after claiming to trade the stock, NOW you are an options trader....smgdh

"Actually, what makes more sense is that you have lost soooo much money here"

you insisted i didnt own the stock and now when it suits your change of stupid tactics, im a bagholder...again, SMGDH..

"Here is a tip...when a stock drops...buy it at each bottom and see it at each top."

you mean i should buy low and sell high?...wow...thats brilliant...did you just read that in "trading for dummies"?...lmao

"Did you see a 30 cent move today?"

lol...that spike to 4.50 lasted seconds...you didnt catch that...the best you could have done was 4.43 and i doubt you caught that either...probably more like 4.40...unless you bought in the first minute at the open, the best you could have done was a buy at about 4.26...so the very best you could have done was 14 cents...

why would any trader who has any clue what he is doing, risk trading a loser like nkla for pennies when there are so much better opportunities out there with far less risk?...

you dont trade nkla...that would be foolish...you are a bagholder...

30 cents on 10,000 shares is $3k in a day. Rinse and repeat once a week my friend...but you know that already.