WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former Nikola CEO Trevor Milton, convicted of fraud for misleading investors about his electric truck company, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump, the White House confirmed Friday.
Milton, sentenced to four years in prison, was accused of exaggerating Nikola’s technology, including staging a video where a nonfunctioning truck appeared to drive on its own. Prosecutors sought hundreds of millions in restitution for investors. Milton, who had not been incarcerated pending appeal, expressed gratitude: “I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for his courage in standing up for what is right and for granting me this sacred pardon of innocence.”
Trump defended the pardon, claiming Milton was unfairly targeted for supporting him. “They say the thing that he did wrong was he was one of the first people that supported a gentleman named Donald Trump for president,” Trump said.
The pardon comes as part of a wave of clemency actions. Trump also commuted the nearly 10-year sentence of Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson and pardoned cryptocurrency entrepreneurs Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed.
Nikola, once a Wall Street sensation, filed for bankruptcy in February after its reputation crumbled amid fraud allegations. The company previously paid $125 million to settle a civil case with the SEC but admitted no wrongdoing.
At Milton’s conviction, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams warned startup founders: “‘Fake it till you make it’ is not an excuse for fraud, and if you mislead your investors, you will pay a stiff price.”