While it’s easier for Nikola to hamstring independent content creators, it’s harder to evade the scrutiny of legacy publications like The Wall Street Journal, which on Thursday cast a spotlight on Nikola’s recently departed founder, Trevor Milton. Kept brief, Milton has a track record of ambitious ventures that have failed to fulfill their promises, notably including a defunct car classifieds site called uPillar, and a firm named dHybrid that promised revolutionary natural gas-diesel engines. Milton also briefly ran an ADT security franchise, which he sold in 2006 having padded its books according to its buyer.
And it was at this ADT franchise that Milton is accused of having committed a second act of sexual misconduct, news of which comes after the first high-profile accusation emerged. According to CNBC, the attorney of Milton’s first accuser (one of his cousins) has also brought forward a second victim, who was assaulted while working as an office assistant at Milton’s ADT franchise as a minor. No charges have yet been filed and Milton has strongly denied the accusations, but his days as the flamboyant leader of Nikola are over—and the company’s future is less clear than ever.
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