Why Did Nikola Fail?
The Truck That Rolled Downhill to a $34B Valuation
📜 What Happened
Nikola's promo video showed its hydrogen truck cruising — actually it was TOWED to a hilltop and ROLLED down in neutral, filmed at an angle to look self-propelled. At peak, the pre-revenue company was briefly worth more than Ford. Short-seller Hindenburg's report unraveled it; GM's partnership collapsed; founder Trevor Milton was convicted of securities fraud in 2022.
☠️ The Fatal Mistake
Faking the core capability on camera — betting the future on catching up to a lie before anyone filmed the hill.
🧠 The Lesson (Free for You)
Demos are promises with witnesses. In the age of forensic internet, every staged inch becomes discovery evidence — build the truck before the video, always.
📕 The Antidote Book
Customer conversations are the cheapest startup insurance — and almost everyone does them wrong, collecting compliments ('sounds great, I'd buy it!') that evaporate at the checkout. Fitzpatrick's rules, named for the…
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