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Washington, D.C. – In a move that has reignited debates over presidential clemency powers, President Donald Trump this week granted a “full and unconditional pardon” to Trevor Milton, the embattled founder of Nikola Corporation, a hydrogen-electric truck company once hailed as a clean-tech titan. The decision, announced via a video statement from Milton himself, spares the convicted fraudster from a four-year prison sentence and wipes away a potential $680 million restitution order, leaving defrauded investors empty-handed and critics crying foul.
Milton, 42, was sentenced in 2023 after a federal jury found him guilty of defrauding investors by grossly exaggerating Nikola’s technological capabilities. At the heart of the case was a 2020 short-seller report by Hindenburg Research, which accused Nikola of staging a deceptive demo video showing a supposedly functional hydrogen-powered semi-truck prototype. The footage, it turned out, depicted a nonworking vehicle simply rolling downhill. The exposé triggered a government investigation, a plummeting stock price, and Milton’s eventual conviction. Though sentenced to prison, he had remained free on bail pending an appeal—until Trump’s pardon rendered that process moot.
In his video statement, Milton hailed the pardon as the prelude to “the greatest comeback story in America,” thanking Trump, whom he called an “amazing man.” Milton, who donated $1.8 million to Trump’s successful 2024 re-election campaign, suggested the president saw parallels between Milton’s prosecution and the legal battles Trump has long decried as politically motivated. Speaking at a press event yesterday, Trump reinforced that narrative, claiming Milton’s only misstep was “supporting a gentleman named Donald Trump for president.”
The pardon marks the latest chapter in the rise and fall of Nikola, a company that once commanded a staggering $30 billion valuation—surpassing even Ford Motor Company—after going public in 2020 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Nikola pitched itself as the future of emissions-free trucking, promising to revolutionize the industry with hydrogen-powered 18-wheelers. But cracks soon appeared: the company was hemorrhaging money on every vehicle it sold, and its lofty claims unraveled under scrutiny. Following the fraud revelations, Nikola’s stock crashed, and the company filed for bankruptcy in February 2025, just weeks before Milton’s pardon.
Federal prosecutors had recently sought $680 million in restitution for investors who lost fortunes betting on Nikola’s promises, a penalty Milton now evades entirely. The decision has drawn sharp criticism from shareholder advocates and legal experts. “This pardon sends a message that if you’ve got the right connections, accountability doesn’t apply,” said Sarah Klein, a spokesperson for the Defrauded Investors Alliance. “Those who trusted Nikola’s vision are left with nothing, while Milton walks free.”
Milton’s clemency is not an isolated case in Trump’s second term. The president has already made headlines with other high-profile pardons and commutations, including Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road founder serving a life sentence for running a dark web marketplace that facilitated drug trafficking, and Ozy Media’s Carlos Watson, whose fraud sentence was commuted yesterday. Trump also pardoned cryptocurrency entrepreneurs who had pleaded guilty to violating bank secrecy laws, further stoking accusations of favoritism toward allies and donors.
Supporters of the Milton pardon, however, argue it aligns with Trump’s broader agenda of challenging what he calls a “weaponized justice system.” At a rally in Ohio last week, Trump told cheering crowds, “We’re taking back America from the bureaucrats and the witch hunters. Good people deserve a second chance.” Milton, for his part, has vowed to rebuild his legacy, hinting at new ventures in the clean-energy space—though he offered no specifics.
The White House has yet to release an official statement detailing the rationale for Milton’s pardon, but the move has already deepened partisan divides. Democrats have called for reforms to the pardon power, while some Republicans laud Trump’s willingness to buck convention. Meanwhile, Nikola’s creditors and former investors are left grappling with the fallout of a company that promised a green revolution but delivered little more than broken dreams—and, for its founder, an unexpected lifeline.
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