Trump Pardons Nikola Founder Milton After Fraud Conviction \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Former Nikola CEO Trevor Milton, convicted of defrauding investors, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. Milton was sentenced to four years for exaggerating the company’s technology but had not yet served time. The White House confirmed the pardon, which may nullify restitution claims exceeding $100 million.
Trump Pardons Nikola Founder Trevor Milton: Quick Looks
- Trevor Milton, convicted of fraud, receives presidential pardon from Donald Trump
- Milton was sentenced to four years for misleading investors about Nikola’s EV technology
- Trump says Milton was targeted for supporting him early in his political career
- Pardon could erase restitution claims totaling hundreds of millions
- Milton and wife donated $1.8 million to Trump re-election fund weeks before 2024 election
- Nikola filed for bankruptcy in February following years of scandal
- Trump also pardoned Ross Ulbricht and Jan. 6 rioters after taking office
Deep Look
In a move that has reignited debate over presidential pardon powers and political favoritism, President Donald Trump has pardoned Trevor Milton, the founder of embattled electric vehicle startup Nikola, who was convicted of fraud in 2023 for misleading investors about his company’s technology and capabilities.
The White House confirmed the pardon late Friday, following a social media post by Milton the night before in which he celebrated being granted a “sacred pardon of innocence.” The controversial move is likely to nullify court-ordered restitution exceeding $100 million, which prosecutors were seeking on behalf of defrauded investors.
Milton, now 42, was sentenced to four years in federal prison but had remained free on $2 million bail while pursuing an appeal. With Trump’s pardon, the conviction is effectively wiped from the record, drawing criticism from legal experts, prosecutors, and investor advocates.
A High-Flying Startup That Crashed on Hype
Milton rose to fame as the charismatic face of Nikola, a startup he launched in 2014 with claims of revolutionizing the transportation industry through hydrogen-powered and electric semi-trucks. For a time, Nikola was considered a Wall Street darling, drawing billions in market value and forming a partnership with General Motors.
But much of Milton’s pitch was based on falsehoods, prosecutors said during his trial. In one now-infamous example, a promotional video showed a Nikola truck gliding down a desert highway. In reality, the truck was non-functional and had been rolled down a hill to create the illusion of performance.
Prosecutors also accused Milton of falsely claiming Nikola had designed proprietary trucks, when in fact they were modified GM vehicles bearing Nikola’s branding. His repeated exaggerations on TV, podcasts, and social media misled investors into pouring money into a venture that lacked working products.
The company’s stock nosedived in 2020 amid fraud revelations. Milton resigned under pressure that year, and Nikola has since paid $125 million in a civil settlement with the SEC—without admitting wrongdoing. Earlier this year, Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, marking a dramatic collapse.
Trump’s Justification: Political Retaliation
When asked at a press conference on Friday about the rationale behind the pardon, Trump claimed that Milton had been unfairly targeted due to his political support for the president.
“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,” Trump said. “He did nothing wrong.”
Trump further attacked the Southern District of New York’s prosecutors—the office that brought the case—as a “vicious group of people,” despite their track record of high-profile corporate and political prosecutions.
Milton and his wife had donated over $1.8 million to a Trump re-election campaign fund just weeks before the 2024 election, records from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show. Critics have pointed to the donation as a troubling sign of pay-to-play politics, especially given the scale of the fraud and the losses suffered by investors.
Defense Team Ties to Trump World
Milton’s legal defense included two attorneys with close ties to Trump:
- Marc Mukasey, who previously represented the Trump Organization
- Brad Bondi, the brother of Pam Bondi, a prominent Trump ally and former U.S. Attorney General
Both played key roles in defending Milton during the securities fraud case, which ended in a conviction despite their efforts.
At the time of sentencing, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:
“Trevor Milton lied to investors again and again — on social media, on television, on podcasts, and in print… ‘Fake it till you make it’ is not an excuse for fraud.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has declined to comment on the pardon.
A Pattern of Controversial Pardons
Milton’s pardon is the latest in a string of controversial acts of clemency by Trump since returning to office.
- Hours after his second inauguration, Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot
- The next day, he issued a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road, an infamous online drug marketplace. Ulbricht had been serving a life sentence since 2015
These actions signal that Trump is again using his presidential powers to reward loyalty and challenge the legitimacy of judicial outcomes, particularly in high-profile or politically charged cases.
What the Pardon Means for Investors and the Industry
The pardon of Trevor Milton effectively overrides the court’s ruling and may eliminate any chance of financial restitution for thousands of retail and institutional investors who suffered major losses when Nikola’s stock collapsed.
It also sends a worrying message to the startup and tech communities, say critics: that executive dishonesty can be excused by political connections, and that accountability can be bypassed through presidential intervention.
Legal scholars also caution that this could embolden other founders in high-growth industries to engage in questionable promotional practices, believing that consequences may be mitigated by political influence or personal wealth.
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