TL;DR
Nikola, an electric vehicle company, went bankrupt after its “revolutionary” hydrogen truck technology was revealed as a hoax. Investors, like John, lost everything, proving that hype without substance ultimately leads to ruin.
Story
John, a retired teacher, lost his life savings betting on Nikola, an electric vehicle startup. It wasn’t a bad bet initially—Nikola promised revolutionary trucks powered by hydrogen. The hype was real. Their stock soared. But there was a problem: the tech didn’t exist.
Like a house of cards built on hype, Nikola’s facade began to crumble. Their supposed “revolutionary” truck was filmed rolling downhill, gravity providing the “innovation.” ‣ Innovation: New idea/invention. The CEO, Trevor Milton, spun tales of groundbreaking tech, mirroring the deceptive tactics of Enron. ‣ Enron: Energy company that collapsed due to fraud. He even touted an “HTML5 supercomputer” as their infotainment system—a laughable claim to anyone familiar with basic coding. ‣ HTML5: Markup language for websites, not supercomputers.
The lies couldn’t last. Investigations exposed the fraud. Stock prices plummeted. John, along with countless others, was left with nothing. Just like the 2008 crash, blind faith in promises led to financial ruin. ‣ 2008 Crash: Financial crisis triggered by subprime mortgages. Nikola declared bankruptcy, leaving investors holding worthless stock.
This story isn’t unique. It’s a cautionary tale as old as markets themselves: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Nikola’s downfall mirrors the dot-com bubble burst—hype over substance, leading to devastating consequences. ‣ Dot-com bubble: Rapid rise and fall of internet-based companies in the late 1990s.
Advice
Don’t invest based on hype. Research the company, the technology, and the leadership before putting your money down. If it sounds like science fiction, it probably is.