President Trump on Thursday pardoned Nikola founder and one-time rival of Elon Musk Trevor Milton, who was convicted in federal court in 2...
President Trump on Thursday pardoned Nikola founder and one-time rival of Elon Musk Trevor Milton, who was convicted in federal court in 2022 of defrauding investors in the electric truck company, claiming that he was targeted by prosecutors because he “supported Trump.”
Milton, 42, claimed he was targeted by prosecutors because he “supported Trump” to the tune of nearly $1 million since 2016.
Milton was sentenced to 4 years in prison and a $1 million fine in December 2023 after being convicted on several counts of securities and wire fraud charges in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
The former CEO expressed relief in an Instagram video Thursday, saying, “I just got a call from the president of the United States, on my phone, and he signed my full and unconditional pardon of innocence.”
When asked about the pardon, Trump told reporters, “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.”
He added that prosecutors “persecuted, they destroyed five years of his life. He … fought for five years of his life, and he did nothing wrong.”
Milton claimed in a press release that there were “striking similarities” between his case “and those brought against President Trump,” stating, “This pardon is not just about me — it’s about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that’s a lot of people.”
Milton’s 2022 conviction stems from the former CEO’s false claims “that the company had early success in creating a ‘fully functioning’ semi-truck prototype known as the ‘Nikola One,’ when Milton knew the prototype was inoperable,” prosecutors said at the time.
Since his January inauguration, President Trump has issued numerous high-profile pardons, including approximately 1,500 individuals connected to the January 6 Capitol events, Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, and Devon Archer, who was once a business partner of Hunter Biden.
Nikola’s financial situation deteriorated significantly before Milton’s pardon, with the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2025. The electric truck maker reported owing between $1 billion and $10 billion to creditors.
This marked a stunning reversal for a company that once boasted a $30 billion market value in 2020, temporarily surpassing automotive giant Ford’s valuation.
The company has only sold 600 cars since the third quarter of 2022, CNBC reports.
In his Instagram video announcement, Milton appeared visibly emotional while driving, calling it “probably the best day I’ve had in five years.”
He added, “I am free. The prosecutors can no longer hurt me. They can’t destroy my family, they can’t rip everything away from me, they can’t ruin my life.”
Milton’s press release further criticized the justice system, stating, “It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing.”