What you need to know:
- Nikola Motors bankruptcy leaves the company with just one employee after February 2025 Chapter 11 filing.
- Hydrogen fuel-cell startup reports no revenue and $1.6M loss in November, with total bankruptcy losses over $556M.
- Asset sales bring in $38.8M, including environmental credits and Hyroad Energy assets; bankruptcy fees near $29M.
- Hyroad Energy plans to bring Nikola Tre FCEV trucks back online, restoring digital connectivity and expanding hydrogen fueling.
Nikola Motors, the once a promising hydrogen fuel-cell startup behind the Class 8 Tre semi, has been reduced to a single employee following its February 2025 bankruptcy filing, according to the latest U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware court report, dated December 22.
The company's Monthly Operating Report (MOR) for the period ending November 30, 2025, clarifies the bankruptcy case has been ongoing for nine months and is being handled together with several related Nikola companies. During this time, Nikola's workforce has collapsed from 874 full-time employees at the time of the filing to just one today.
The court approved a plan to liquidate the company on September 12, 2025, and that plan took effect on December 12, 2025.
Last September, Nikola was down to just three employees, likely including CEO Steve Girsky. Today, the sole survivor is the Liquidating Trustee, Thomas Pitta.
[Related: Nikola CEO not concerned about Tesla Semi competition]
Nikola's November 2025 status
For November 2025, Nikola unsurprisingly reported no sales or revenue and lost about $1.6 million during the month. That loss pushed the company's total losses since entering bankruptcy to over $556 million. Meanwhile, Nikola's cash balance also fell, dropping from about $45.7 million at the start of November to roughly $41.2 million by the end of the month, after accounting for money coming in and various other expenses paid out.
The balance sheet shows that Nikola is deeply insolvent, with a negative net worth of about $172 million. The company has roughly $124 million in assets but about $296 million in total debts. Most of that debt—about $272 million—comes from unsecured obligations incurred before the bankruptcy filing. Nikola also reported about $24 million in bills incurred after the filing, but none were past due during this period.
Nikola continues to sell off assets at a rapid pace outside its normal operations, bringing in a total of about $38.8 million in net cash. Some of its most significant asset sales include:
- Environmental Credits: Sold to Mack Trucks for $15,302,085.
- Wabash Valley Resources: Sold equity and a convertible note for a combined $1,125,000.
- Hyroad Energy Sale: Transferred assets to Simoneta, Ltd. for $3,850,000.
- Lucid Transaction: An asset sale to Lucid USA was authorized in April 2025.
- De Minimis Sales: Various smaller asset transfers were made to WestAir Gases ($460,000) and Lance Milton ($442,618).
Bankruptcy isn't cheap
Nikola's bankruptcy itself has been very costly. Total professional fees and expenses for the company and its committees now total about $29 million. Of that amount, roughly $3.6 million was approved in the most recent month alone. The largest recipients include lead law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, which has earned about $4.4 million so far, and financial advisors M3 Advisory Partners and Houlihan Lokey Capital, each with more than $5 million in approved fees.
In its February 2025 Chapter 11 filing, Nikola reported liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion and assets between $500 million and $1 billion. Since then, the company reached an $82 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which was one of its largest unsecured creditors.
Meanwhile, Nikola still holds an arbitration award of around $100 million against its founder and former CEO, Trevor Milton, which the company is still trying to collect, though the chances of recovery is unlikely. Milton was previously convicted of fraud and sentenced to four years in federal prison, but later received a full pardoned by President Trump.
What's next for hydrogen?
Last fall, Hyroad Energy, which won the bankruptcy auction for Nikola Corporation in August, announced plans to bring Nikola trucks back online starting this month, giving fleet owners a way to restore full digital connectivity after months of service disruptions.
The company also promised remaining Nikola owners, including William Hall, manager of San Francisco Bay Area Coyote Container and owner of the first Nikola Tre FCEV semi sold to a customer, expanded maintenance, parts, and software services as well as plans to boost California's hydrogen fueling network.
[Related: FCEV early adopter's operational concerns come to life]
Clean Trucking has reached out to Hyroad requesting updates. This article will be updated if we receive a response.
