Lucid Motors wins bankruptcy auction for Nikola’s Arizona factory and other assets

EV startup Lucid Motors has emerged as a shock winner within the chapter public sale for electrical trucking firm Nikola’s Arizona manufacturing unit and different property, in accordance a late Thursday night time court docket filing.

Lucid dedicated round $30 million in money and non-cash concerns in change for the manufacturing unit, Nikola’s lease on its Phoenix headquarters, and “sure equipment, gear and stock,” in line with the submitting.

As a part of the deal, Lucid is planning to make provides to round 300 former Nikola staff, the corporate advised TechCrunch.

The sudden look of Lucid within the Nikola chapter proceedings is a shock for a number of causes.

Nikola had been making an attempt to promote its whole business because it filed for chapter safety in February. Lucid is targeted on making passenger EVs, and has by no means handled hydrogen-powered electrical autos, which is an enormous piece of Nikola’s nascent enterprise.

Extra just lately, Nikola’s founder Trevor Milton — who was convicted of fraud in 2022, however was pardoned by President Trump in March — was evaluating a bid of his own on the startup’s assets. Nikola satisfied the court docket to dam Milton from inspecting its manufacturing unit and different property in-person forward of the public sale, which was held April 7.

Lucid has its personal manufacturing unit in close by Casa Grande, Arizona, and so it sees worth in buying extra warehousing house, testing gear, and staff, in line with the corporate.

Whereas Lucid was the highest bidder for these property on the public sale, the chapter choose is permitting objections to the sale to be filed till 12:00 p.m. ET on Friday, April 11. A listening to is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET.