Investigate, Then Invest
The Déjà Vu of
Nikola Motors and Nobe Cars
If you read the exposé on Nobe Cars on "Estonian 60 Minutes" some time ago, at first you brushed the story off, then you started to see that it looked more and more like what you were seeing in your own experience. When the video was translated into English, you probably began to accept what your previous excitement made you not want to believe. Once the patterns of behavior became undeniable, you might have thought this kind of thing just doesn't happen in real life, not to you. If the video below gives you any feelings of déjà vu, it's time to pay attention to that gut feeling you've been having.
Take a breath, and...
Trust Your Gut
Whether it's Nikola Motors, Dale Motorcars, Theranos, or WeWork, there are certain patterns of behavior to look for. The playbook is the same over and over, just with different bells and whistles to excite you enough to distract your from paying attention to that nagging feeling.
The story of Nikola Motor's fraud gave déjà vu to many of those who have experienced Roman Muljar. Watch the video, look through the list below of what others who have run up against Nobe feels rings true for them. Then check in with your gut before parting with your savings. If like them, you are seeing similarities, question whether what you have found is a miracle or something too good to be true.
VIDEO: How to Lie Your Way to $34 Billion
1:05 How could a man look so confident about his achievements while knowing that none of what he was saying was real?
3:01 He overpromised the potential of the business resulting in a loss for the buyer...
3:26 He had no formal training in the industry...
3:54 He had no formal engineering experience but... managed to convince...
4:19 The engines had major problems and didn't do at all what they claimed and to top it off part of that $2mil was squandered on personal living.
4:41 To run away from all of his legal problems... started a new company... the similarities in their names was intentional... left... partners with nothing
5:16 the company was in shambles. In private conversations Trevor admitted that parts of the engine systems were falling off...
5:26 all that mattered... is that the deal was paid out for him...
7:19 They stated that the [vehicle] was engineered, developed, and is finalizing assembly, but what did they actually have... was just a frame on wheels.
8:35 To call this fully functioning was at the very least a bit misleading...
8:50 [He] seemingly couldn't hold back his emotion when talking. Perhaps it was an appeal to one's emotional side to shut down rational thinking and skepticism.
He seemingly couldn't hold back his emotion when talking. Perhaps it was an appeal to one's emotional side to shut down rational thinking and skepticism.
9:00 The statements made by Trevor had alarmed some people familiar with the truck's capability. They told Bloomberg that the truck was inoperable and had missing key components to power itself
11:03 A lot of people were looking forward to the pre-production units to be released the following year, but this was never to be. It seems that Trevor was up to his old tricks again. He never really had any plans to finish developing the [vehicle]. He was only interested in one thing: raising more money.
11:39 The video was simply the result of... towing the truck to the top of the hill and letting it roll back down.
13:02 This all sounds amazing, but when you look into the details of who was spearheading [it]... things get a little suspect... director of hydrogen production, previously to joining Nikola, his work consisted of pouring concrete and building a barn as a subcontractor; not exactly the experience needed.
15:11 Trevor had perfected a devious game: He would act as a spokesperson for Nikola and make up lofty claims to gain partners. Essentially, Trevor would use these claims to get investors and more partners, and then use the brand recognition of those partners to get even more investors.
18:47 "He was the next Elon Musk."
19:42 Finally, after lying for years and roping in some of the biggest companies... Hindenburg Research released a scathing report calling Nikola Motors an intricate fraud.
20:14 We believe this is only the beginning of Nikolas' unraveling. Nikola has almost no intellectual property, products, or revenue to fall back on. We think the company's key asset was its founders ability to raise money through hype.
21:31 The company received a myriad of subpoenas and investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission commenced.
22:24 Prosecutors claiming the truck's door even had to be taped up for the video so it wouldn't fall off.
23:32 Correcting the course of a company built on fraudulent claims by a compulsive liar is not going to be easy... the stock price is at an all-time low and faith in the company dwindles every day... and a slew of investors are left holding the bag.
23:52 On a wider point it's becoming clear that investors have collectively lost their minds. It seems as if they're only driven by lofty promises without doing a shred of research everyone was just so excited that they didn't want to look deeper, and herein lies the problem.