What you need to know:
- Nikola Motors enters final liquidation phase, with only three employees remaining and just $50 million in cash—much of it allocated to legal fees.
- Once valued at $30 billion, the EV truck manufacturer now reports massive losses and a negative net worth.
- Asset sales continue, including the Coolidge, Arizona factory sold to Lucid Motors, and environmental credits sold to Mack Trucks.
- Unsecured creditors are unlikely to recover funds.
Nikola Motors' post-bankruptcy shutdown and liquidation continues to proceed as the once-promising manufacturer of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell Class 8 semi trucks is down to its last three employees and a cash balance, as of late August, of just $50 million in cash, though a significant portion is reserved for ongoing legal fees.
[Related: Nikola Motors, once a Wall Street darling, files for bankruptcy]
Nikola, referred to as the "Debtor" in the official U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Delaware document for the reporting period from August 1-31, 2025, has just three employees remaining on its payroll, compared to 874 when it declared bankruptcy on February 19, 2025. It's likely those three employees are CEO Steve Girsky, CFO Tom Okray, and chief legal officer Britton Worthen, though this has not been officially confirmed.
Putting this into perspective, Nikola was valued at around $30 billion at its peak in 2020 and employed approximately 1,500 people in 2022.
Nikola's remaining assets
Nikola generated nearly $27 million in cash receipts last month, mostly from asset sales (including the sale of its Coolidge, Ariz. factory to Lucid Motors), and one-time transactions like the sale of environmental credits to Mack Trucks. Despite generating decent service revenue (around $15.5 million), the company posted a massive net loss of $194 million, mostly due to $210 million in restructuring charges related to the ongoing bankruptcy process.
[Related: Over $114M worth of Nikola hydrogen trucks, raw materials up for auction]
The company ended August with $50 million in cash, mostly preserved in interest-bearing and reserve accounts, the document confirms. However, Nikola's total liabilities ($305 million) still far outweigh its assets ($135 million), leaving a negative net worth of $169 million. Legal fees related to the bankruptcy now total nearly $16 million.
Wind-down mode
Nikola's August 2025 report essentially confirms the company is in pure wind-down mode, with the Chapter 11 plan already confirmed and asset sales nearly completed. While cash is still on hand, the huge restructuring costs and liabilities indicate that little to nothing may be left for unsecured creditors.
The focus now is likely just on final distributions and closing the case, but what does this mean for Nikola's unsecured creditors?
Nikola's creditors and Trevor Milton
In its February 2025 Chapter 11 filing, Nikola listed its liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion and assets between $500 million and $1 billion.
Since then, Nikola and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached an $82 million settlement. The SEC was one of Nikola's largest unsecured creditors.
Given that Nikola is still paying a few people their salaries along with legal fees, chances are a majority of the remaining unsecured creditors will not see any money.
Nikola does have an arbitration award against its founder and former CEO Trevor Milton of around $96 million that it still seeks to collect, though this is unlikely to happen. Milton was previously convicted of fraud and sentence to four years in federal prison but was later pardoned by President Trump.
[Related: Nikola's creditors subpoena founder Trevor Milton]
