Long before Utah billionaire Trevor Milton was convicted in New York on three counts of fraud for lying to investors, three women and two of Milton’s former friends accused him of sexual misconduct.
Nikola This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.
Insider spent six months talking to people who have worked for Trevor Milton or interacted with him.
On March 6, Insider published the results of that investigation.
Below is a summary of the story s main findings.
Trevor Milton, the charismatic founder of the electric-truck startup Nikola, became a minor celebrity in the automotive world last year after he took Nikola public in June, setting off a wave of public listings from electric-vehicle companies. Nikola had big names behind it including General Motors, BlackRock, and Anheuser-Busch and investors who at one point gave it a valuation larger than Ford s.
Nikola; Massimo Pinca/Reuters; Samantha Lee/Insider This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.
Trevor Milton left Nikola after he was accused of lying and exaggerating about its products.
Legal filings and interviews with 38 people suggest Milton has a history of bending the truth.
His friends defend him, saying he s misunderstood. Milton declined to comment on this story.
Trevor Milton was minutes from showing the world the fulfillment of his childhood dream. It hadn t been an easy road. He d failed out of high school, dropped out of college, watched his mother and step-mother die before his 22nd birthday, and gotten sued by the man who appeared ready to give him his big break as an entrepreneur.