Nikola started delivering hydrogen-powered to U.S. customers in late 2023, the first truckmaker to do so.Nikola, the first company to sell hydrogen-powered semis in the U.S., delivered more fuel cell trucks to customers in the year’s first three months than analysts expected and may benefit from tougher U.S. rules for cleaner heavy-duty commercial vehicles, positive developments as it works to shake off a chaotic past.
Under CEO Steve Girsky, a former vice chairman for General Motors and long-time auto analyst, Nikola has tightened its business strategy to building battery and hydrogen trucks and setting up fuel stations to power them. Milton’s plans when he was still running the company— to also become a major producer of green hydrogen, build electric pickup trucks, military vehicles and watercraft — have all have been scrapped.
For now, the company is focused on getting trucks to customers in California, where a state program provides ato fleet customers who buy the Tre FCEV. Last month, Nikola opened a HYLA hydrogen station in Ontario, California, east of Los Angeles, that’s initially designed to refuel 40 trucks a day.