Hydrogen and electric truck startup Nikola went public last month and the company’s market capitalization has already soared past that of Ford.
Market Watch reports that since Nikola started trading publicly last Tuesday, shares in the company have more than doubled and during intraday trading, the company’s market value eclipsed $30 billion, higher than the $28.8 valuation of Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobile’s market cap of $20.5 billion.
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Nikola has yet to deliver a single vehicle but claims to have secured over $10 billion in pre-orders from commercial clients that include brewer Anheuser-Busch who has ordered 800 trucks. Interest in the company has seen the fortune of its chairman and founder Trevor Milton jump to as high as $9 billion making him the 188th richest person in the world.
The startup has unveiled a handful of hydrogen and electric trucks in recent years. In December 2019, it presented the Nikola Tre, an all-electric truck with a modular battery system with a total capacity of 720 kWh. The Tre also pumps out 644 hp and 1,328 lb-ft (1,800 Nm) of torque.
More recently and perhaps more importantly, Nikola announced in February that it will join the growing market of all-electric pickup trucks with a vehicle it dubs the ‘Badger.’ Although the Badger has only been previewed through a series of detailed renderings, Milton revealed on Sunday that Nikola will unveil a fully-functional prototype in the coming months. He added that he wants to see the Nikola Badger outsell the Ford F-150.
It is understood fuel-cell and battery electric vehicles of the Badger will be produced. The EV variant will utilize a 160 kWh battery pack and have a range of about 300 miles (483 km). By comparison, the fuel cell variant will be capable of traveling 600 miles (966 km) on a single charge. Peak power will sit at 906 hp and 980 lb-ft (1,329 Nm).
