Nikola partners back company despite founder Milton’s exit, CFO says

(Reuters) – Nikola Corp Chief Financial Officer Kim Brady said on Tuesday the electric-truck maker continues to enjoy the support of all its automotive partners even after the departure of founder Trevor Milton.

Shares of the company were up nearly 5% on Tuesday, after losing about 19% in market value during the previous session.

Milton stepped down following claims of nepotism and fraud by short-seller Hindenburg, which had said the company misled investors and partners over its technology.

“We feel very confident about due diligence that has been performed by our partners, and as you can see, our partners have been 100% supportive and behind us,” Brady told investors at a virtual conference organized by Evercore ISI.

General Motors Co and Germany’s Bosch had said on Monday they were sticking to their alliances with Nikola.

Brady said Bosch and GM were “incredibly thorough” in terms of their due diligence of Nikola, adding, Bosch had sent an “army of engineers” to assess the EV maker.

“We recommend that investors really focus on the future, and what we have delivered, and what we are going to deliver,” Brady added.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil and Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)