@JimsH3 That's a good question, Jim...and something I've wondered for a while.
Personally, I have to believe that the main reason GM made this deal was because they saw the fallout with Milton coming in fast, and they saw an opportunity to cash in on the next hot EV startup. Think about it, they have up virtually nothing up front...got an 11% stake in Nikola...get the EV credits from Nikola...and will get hundreds of millions, if not billions, in development payments for Nikola vehicles, assuming they stay afloat. But they have lost nothing thus far.
I honestly think that GM knew about this report, and saw the chance to get a major stake in Nikola up front for free, and then later, to expand to near-majority or majority ownership. And now a former GM exec heads the company, too. I think the Badger is DOA, and was likely never reaching production. What GM likely wanted all along was the Class 7/8 hydrogen semi...that was the goal. Hydrogen-electric tech is the best clean diesel alternative by a long shot, and if GM can develop the semi and even lower-class vehicles, I could easily see them turning the Nikola brand into their hydro-electric commercial vehicle subsidiary brand. As for the current climate at Nikola, GM loses nothing but time. This is all just me speculating!
Personally, I have to believe that the main reason GM made this deal was because they saw the fallout with Milton coming in fast, and they saw an opportunity to cash in on the next hot EV startup. Think about it, they have up virtually nothing up front...got an 11% stake in Nikola...get the EV credits from Nikola...and will get hundreds of millions, if not billions, in development payments for Nikola vehicles, assuming they stay afloat. But they have lost nothing thus far.
I honestly think that GM knew about this report, and saw the chance to get a major stake in Nikola up front for free, and then later, to expand to near-majority or majority ownership. And now a former GM exec heads the company, too. I think the Badger is DOA, and was likely never reaching production. What GM likely wanted all along was the Class 7/8 hydrogen semi...that was the goal. Hydrogen-electric tech is the best clean diesel alternative by a long shot, and if GM can develop the semi and even lower-class vehicles, I could easily see them turning the Nikola brand into their hydro-electric commercial vehicle subsidiary brand. As for the current climate at Nikola, GM loses nothing but time. This is all just me speculating!
