General Motors Co and Nikola Corp on Monday announced a reworked, smaller agreement that keeps a fuel-cell partnership intact but eliminates an equity stake in the startup for the Detroit automaker as well as plans for building Nikola’s electric pickup truck, Trend reports with reference to Reuters.
In September, the companies announced a deal under which GM would supply batteries, a chassis architecture, fuel cell systems and a factory to build the startup’s proposed Badger electric pickup in return for an 11% stake and $700 million. However, the deal came into question after a short seller attacked Nikola as a fraud, something the company denied.
The new deal, a non-binding memorandum of understanding, is subject to negotiation and a definitive deal, Nikola and GM said in separate statements.
Under the new agreement, GM will supply its fuel-cell system for Nikola’s Class 7 and Class 8 commercial semi-trucks, Nikola said. The companies are also discussing Nikola’s potential use of GM’s Ultium electric battery system in its commercial trailers.
Nikola’s shares were up almost 8% in pre-market trading.