Scamfluencers - Trevor Milton: The Elon Musk of Semi-Trucks | 220

Episode Date: June 29, 2026

Trevor Milton called himself a serial entrepreneur and his playbook was simple: pick a futuristic idea, promise it will change the world… then talk about it constantly online. His biggest pitch was an emissions-free semi-truck that would make diesel engines obsolete. Investors poured in billions of dollars. But Trevor spent far more time selling the dream than building the truck – and soon, a scorned business partner, a frazzled engineer, and a finance bro with a conscience will start pulling at the threads of his startup empire, exposing the used car salesman at its core.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Audible subscribers can listen to all our episodes of scam influencers ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. Sachi, do you remember when the idea of global warming went mainstream and then suddenly every single product was green? It just became green. It's amazing that we lived through that. I feel like how my parents felt about like when smoking became bad. Whoa, that is such a good comparison. It's, that's our thing.

I feel like it's slowed down because it is kind of getting harder to pretend every individual choice is the cause of climate catastrophe. Like, I mean, deep down, I think people who believe it know it's corporations, right? Yeah, I really believe in trying to do everything you can for the planet. I recycle. I don't litter. But if they try to give me one more fucking paper straw, I'm going to start a revolution. You and me both, sister. Well, today, our scammer is one who took a lot of advantage of the greenwashing craze.

Promising to totally disrupt the transportation industry, this scammer lied his way into millions by offering something too good to be true. It's a sunny day in late 2017, and Noah Kerschisnick is sitting behind the wheel of a massive semi-truck on a two-lane highway in rural Utah. Noah is an all-American boy with dark hair tucked under a truck. trucker hat. He rests one hand on the steering wheel and stares out at open field stretching out in every direction. But Noah isn't a long-haul driver. He's an actor. And this isn't a delivery.

It's a commercial shoot for an auto parts company called Phillips. While Noah is technically the lead in this ad, the real star is the truck, the Nicola One. It's a white 18-wheeler with red and blue stripes and the letters H-2 stamped on the fender because this truck, is powered by clean hydrogen instead of dirty diesel. Or at least, that's the pitch. The man behind this claim is Trevor Milton, the founder and CEO of Nikola. And yes, his company is named after inventor Nikola Tesla, just like another electric vehicle company you may have heard of.

Trevor isn't as well known as Elon Musk, but he's hoping the Nikola 1 will change that. Because if a hydrogen-powered semi-truck actually works, it would revolutionize the transportation industry. Noah is ready to film the commercial's most important scene, actually driving the truck. He can't wait to test this baby out. The inside of the truck looks like a spaceship with a panoramic windshield

and a control panel that looks like an iPad on steroids. But then the engineers break the bad news. He's not going to drive it, not even a little. Instead, they're going to tow the semi to the three, top of a hill and then just let it go. When the engineer gives a signal, Noah and the Nicola I roll down the hill. A drone swoops by capturing the epic footage. Take a look.

Okay, so the video is like a pretty standard promotional video of this truck going down the road. But I mean, it's a pretty big deal if you can make a truck this big work on hydrogen power. Like that would be enormous. Yeah, I mean, from the outside, it looks incredible, like this futuristic semi is zooming along the highway. But really, gravity is doing all the work. For Noah, this is just another commercial shoot. But soon, this footage will become something else entirely. Evidence.

Because Trevor Milton, the man, the myth, the pathological liar behind the Nicola I, is about to reach the end of his road. Whether you're exploring your fascinations or discovering new ones, Ottawa has stories that will introduce you to your most fascinating self. Tap into a whole new world of heated conversations with a saucy romantic series. Know how true the latest blockbuster movie stayed to the sci-fi story it was based on, or find unexpected reveals through an exclusive true crime podcast. However you listen, Audible keeps you fascinated so you can be just as fascinating. Select any audiobook every month plus exclusive podcast.

Plans now start at 899. Audible. Be fascinated. Be fascinating. When a charming neurosurgeon rode into western towns selling a persona of confidence and care, patients trusted him. He wore cowboy boots in the operating room and became sought after by patients. He promised to heal them. Instead, he left a trail of broken bodies.

This is a story of greed, betrayal, and a fight for justice. Listen to Dr. Death, the cowboy, wherever you guys. get your podcasts or binge the entire series right now, only with Audible. From Audible Originals, I'm Sarah Hagi, and I'm Sachi Cole. And this is scam influencers. Trevor Milton called himself a serial entrepreneur. His playbook was simple, pick a futuristic idea, promise it will change the world, then talk about it constantly online, a strategy that worked pretty well for Elon Musk.

In Trevor's case, the idea was an omission. free semi-truck, one that would make diesel engines obsolete. With confidence and a Twitter account, he created enough hype to raise more than a billion dollars. Unfortunately for his investors, Trevor spent more time talking about his trucks than actually building them. But you can only fake it for so long. Soon, a scorned business partner, a frazzled engineer, and a finance bro with a conscience, will help expose the truth behind an audacious startup scheme and the used car salesman at its core.

This is Trevor Milton, the Elon Musk of semi-trucks. Long before Trevor became hell-bent on building a clean driving semi, he was a little boy who loved trains. It's 1988 in Las Vegas. Six-year-old Trevor has hair so blonde it looks white and his skin is pink in the hot desert sun. And he's in Little Kid Paradise, a Union Pacific train yard where his dad works as a railroad manager. Trevor comes here all the time.

Sometimes his dad even lets a conductor show him the inside of a locomotive. Today, the conductor explains that, although the trains run on diesel, the diesel actually powers an electric motor, which means these locomotives are technically electric vehicles. The conductor points to a semi-truck on the freeway and tells Trevor, quote, One day, they'll be smart enough to build a locomotive semi-truck. Here's Trevor remembering that moment years later. This is when the light bulb went off. I wasn't anyone special at the time, nor was he.

We weren't the first people to think about it. I don't lay claim on it. But what it did is it was a seed. It was a seed that cultivated over my life. It was a seed of desire to build something, a desire to create something. All these, like, VC guys are always saying stuff like that. I'm unique because I wanted to make something. Everybody wants to make something.

What does this even mean? I know, it doesn't matter what you think when you're a kid, basically, in my opinion. You want to invent something? Sure, so does every kid. Hmm. But that idea stays with Trevor. He struggles in school,

but shows promise with a different skill. Salesmanship. When he's still in elementary school, Trevor takes out a child-sized loan of $20 from his dad. He uses it to buy candy, which he then sells to his classmates at a markup. He'll later brag that he made so much money, they almost kicked him out of school. Despite being the candy guy, Trevor has trouble making friends.

He's over-eager and constantly bullied. His saving grace is his mom, a real estate agent with tons of hustle. She's loving and supportive and encourages Trevor to keep going, even when the bullies won't let up. The family calls Trevor and his mom energize her bunnies because they never quit. And Trevor sees firsthand just how strong his mom is. When he's only eight years old, she's diagnosed with cancer. She decides she needs to leave Las Vegas for a calmer life in a small town, but Trevor's dad stays behind to work in the city.

So Trevor has to grow up quickly, taking care of his younger sister and his sick mom at the same time. Then, in 1997, his mom dies. Trevor is just 14 years old. The loss will shape the rest of his life. He's committed to honoring her legacy, her optimism, her work ethic, and her refusal to quit. He still carries that dream from the train yard,

but Trevor quickly realizes he isn't destined to be the guy who builds it. He's the guy who's going to sell it, so he needs to find a partner to make his dream a reality. It's March 2010, more than a decade since Trevor's mom passed away. And Mike Shrout is riding in the back of a semi-truck cab

driving through the quaint mountain town of St. George, Utah. Mike is in his late 30s with a blocky nose and kind eyes. But instead of looking out at the beautiful red rock plateaus, he's laser-focused on his laptop. He has to get to his work right now or he's screwed. Mike is an inventor who has created a fuel system that combines diesel and natural gas to power pickup trucks. And right now, he's trying to prove to executives from swift transportation that a system can also be used to power semi-trucks, increasing efficiency, and decreasing emissions in their fleet.

If he pulls it off, he'll be looking at a multi-million dollar contract. And if he doesn't, months of work will go down the drain. Mike is only in this position because of Trevor Milton. He first met Trevor six years ago in 2004 in St. George. Trevor was in his early 20s and was running a security alarm company down the street from Mike's truck accessory business. Trevor would bring his vehicles to Mike's shop for upgrades and always haggle for a deal. Mike found that incredibly annoying, but he was raised in a religious Mormon family. He was told to always help a neighbor, even if that neighbor is constantly trying to squeeze you for pennies.

That's very generous of him because I would not. be so magnificent if I found someone this annoying. No, I don't care if you're my neighbor. But a few years later, during the financial crisis in 2009, Mike's business went under. His family was struggling to get by. But Mike, a self-taught engineer who has always loved a project, realized he could save some money at the pump by converting his pickup to run on natural gas instead of expensive diesel. The conversion worked, and to make some extra cash,

Mike started converting trucks for other people too. Before long, Trevor heard about his new business. One day, Mike was at the gym when Trevor practically cornered him with a request to convert his personal truck. But soon, Trevor wants to go even bigger, asking Mike, why just pickups? Why not semi-trucks too? Trevor painted an exciting picture. Mike would handle the tech. Trevor would handle the business. Even though Trevor had dropped out of college and Mike had no formal training, Trevor thought their outsider status was an advantage.

Together, they can think outside the box to transform the trucking industry and get rich in the process. He even played on Mike's faith telling him this is what he was called to do. Trusting his enthusiastic new partner, Mike shook on a 50-50 deal and their new company, D-Hybrid, was born. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are willing to fork over money with a handshake. Nobody seems to want to get a contract. Anything, even something written down on a Post-it.

I know. And I feel like it's because, you know, Mike has so much faith. But he was shocked by how fast Trevor moved after that. Through a friend of a friend, Trevor landed a meeting with Jerry Moyes, the CEO of Swift Transportation, one of the largest trucking companies in America. Jerry appreciated Trevor's confidence, and he was impressed enough by the pickup conversion that he decided he wanted in on D-Hybrid. He sent Mike and Trevor a full truck cab to convert as a test run. It completely filled Mike's tiny driveway.

Mike laid out the parts on his kitchen table and practiced driving the truck in his church parking lot. He had to figure it out by himself, because Trevor had absolutely nothing to contribute on the engineering. side. But little did Mike know while he was working his ass off building this brand new technology, Trevor was busy screwing him over. First, Trevor incorporated D-hybrid with himself as the sole owner. Then he filed a patent for Mike's natural gas conversion system and Trevor put himself down as the inventor, not Mike. Mike only found out about the betrayal when Trevor asked for his help with the patent filing, and Mike saw that his name was missing. When Mike confronted him, Trevor added Mike to the patent as a co-inventor.

But instead of making him a full partner in the business, he put Mike on a payroll instead. Mike stayed on because he needed the money and because a part of him still believed Trevor would take care of him. Mike, you may have noticed, is far too trusting. This is, as ever, a testament to getting a contract. and not trusting someone just because they live next to you. And also not trusting someone who actually has nothing to contribute to how the thing actually works.

Yeah. But none of that matters if this demonstration for Swift doesn't work out. Mike sweats bullets as he looks between Trevor and his laptop, which is supposed to control the fuel system but can't seem to connect. Eventually, Mike says a quiet prayer to himself. And then, miracle of miracles, the truck begins to hum. After two test runs, the Swift employees pull out some scrap paper, do the math, and say, this system will cut their fuel costs by more than half.

Mike has done it. This is the first step of what he hopes will be a revolution. And even though he's already seen red flags from Trevor, he's hoping they were one-offs, flukes. But he has no idea what else Trevor is hiding up his sleeve. It's November 2010, about six months since Trevor and Mike's successful ride with Swift Transportation. Trevor's watching his favorite talk show host, Glenn Beck, who is going on about his plan to fix America.

The secret here is talking, talking to each other. This is the story of Passover. Talking. Talking where? Put the picture of the family in the Great Depression? That is the answer. At the dinner table. You know, I've lived a pretty blessed Glenn Beck-free existence the last little while,

and this has been really upsetting to be reminded that he talks like that. Yeah, he isn't a name that comes up a lot these days. Let's hope he stays in the shadows. Yeah. Well, Trevor isn't just watching for tips on how to make America conservative again. He's waiting for Glenn to say this. This is my kitchen table. And this is actually up now. I'm selling for charity.

I'm getting rid of a lot of the stuff. And this is in my kitchen. This is now at Upillar.com. You might be wondering why Glenn Beck is using something called Upillar.com to sell his dining chairs. It's because Trevor is paying him to. U.Pillar is another one of Trevor's businesses. It's an all-in-one website, an e-commerce platform where people can post classified ads, job listings, and find dates. It's basically a Frankenstein of every successful mid-2000s website you can think of.

I mean, thank God for that because I do want to sell my clothes in the same place that I try to find a date in the same place that I look for a tutor. So that feels right and helpful. In one swoop, you can do that on Uppiller.com. While Trevor started U-Pillar around the same time he started D-Hybrid, and D-Hybridid is still in business. After the impressive test drive with the Swift executives back in May, D-Hybrid signed a $16 million contract to convert 800 semis in their fleet. Swift advanced Trevor $2 million to convert the first hundred trucks. But just two months later, executives tested D-hybrids converted trucks again, this time with more sophisticated equipment. The numbers were

off the charts, in a bad way. The dehybrid fuel system was producing 2,000% more emissions than normal. On top of that, the natural gas system had added so much power to the semi that the tires were literally flying off in shreds. Here's another thing about Trevor. He works hard, until things get hard. He's all about the vision of a revolutionary semi, but when reality doesn't match the picture in his head, he bails.

So he told Mike to fix him. the engines while he pivoted towards U-Pillar, the shiny new toy. Trevor starts talking up local Utah investors, many of them old classmates and members of the Mormon Church. Though we don't know a lot about Trevor's own religious practice, we know that he was raised Mormon. And he often uses this shared connection as a sales tool, telling investors he has good spiritual feelings about their investments.

Perspective buyers are excited about D-hybrid and what they're. the swift deal means for it, but Trevor redirects them and their money to U-Pillar. Trevor is 27 years old and sees himself as the next Elon or Bezos. He doesn't want just one successful business, he wants many. He gets these people, novices who have never invested before, to trust him with their life savings. Between D-Hybrid and U-Pillar, he raises an estimated $8 million. This is always my least favorite kind of scam is like regular people with a little bit of money that get caught by someone who's like charismatic with a weird idea.

I already hate this. And it's even worse because U-Pillar is limping out of the gate. Trevor claims a site has 80 million users. That's a lie. U-Pillar only has about 200,000 monthly visits. And the site is burning through $100,000 a month. We don't know exactly where that money went, but it seems likely that Trevor spent much of it on advertising. There are the Glenn Beck ads, of course, but U-Pillar also sponsors a NASCAR driver

and through an 8,000-canned silly string party for college students. To keep both companies running, Trevor starts blurring the financial lines. He shifts investor funds from D-Hibird to U-Pillar, and even has some D-Hybrid employees work on U-Pillar projects. But it doesn't help. While D-hybrid hangs on, U-Pillar goes belly up. Trevor says the company didn't have enough money to handle all of the server traffic, and that if he had been in Silicon Valley, he would have gotten larger investments, big enough to match the site's growth.

That's right, Trevor didn't fail. He was just too successful. But Trevor's tendency to over-promise and under-deliver goes beyond U-Pillar. Soon, his other partners will catch on, and they'll come after him for failing to make good on his word. It's May 2012, and Trevor is standing on the floor of the Long Beach Convention Center at a cleanup transportation expo. D-hybrid has a converted semi-truck parked on the convention floor. They've cracked open the truck's fuselage to show off a new natural gas system, one that Mike Schroote's team has spent the last year developing.

There's even a futuristic touchscreen attached to the hull so attendees can get a brochure. Trevor, now 30 years old, is hoping this new tech will attract fresh customers, because his current ones have been less than happy with him lately. Two years ago, Swift Transportation gave D-Hybrid $2 million to convert 100 semis from diesel to natural gas. So far, Mike has only managed to convert five. of them. And the trucks barely work. Newer engines meant stricter regulations, and Mike couldn't get them to perform for the price or on the deadlines Trevor had promised. Trevor over-promised Swift, overworked Mike, and overspent Swift's money trying to keep U-Pillar alive. That sounds like classic VC CEO nonsense.

Sounds like what they're all doing, frankly. Exactly. He's just doing it far, far worse. than anyone else. And Swift CEO, Jerry Moyes, the man who launched Trevor's career, is furious. Trevor's persistence and salesmanship convinced Jerry to sink money into D-hybrid. But Trevor has repaid him

by blowing his cash and failing to deliver. So Trevor needs this expo to work. He needs a new money and new momentum. He's trying to project confidence on stage, but behind the scene, everything is on the verge of falling apart. And that summer, it does. In July 2012, Jerry Sue's D-Hybrid.

And Jerry isn't the only one. That same week, Trevor is hit with a second lawsuit. This time, by a company with a similarly insane naming structure, S-power. S-power had planned to buy D-hybrid until they realized Trevor was lying and the engines were a shuner. I guess I'm relieved that this equally stupid company name could at least figure out that this was bullshit, right? Yeah, all you have to do is add a consonant to the beginning of a word and make sure it's lowercase and that's a tech company, basically.

Right, yeah. But also, Trevor learned something from all those years of being bullied as a kid. Stand your ground and fight back no matter what. so he doubles down and countersues both Swift and S-Power. He claims Swift was trying to steal his IP and that Jerry Moyes had preyed on a, quote, unsuspecting entrepreneur. Trevor also says that it was S-power, not him, who violated their contract by misusing confidential information.

Meanwhile, Mike Schroote, the self-taught engineer whose inventions built this entire company, gets pushed out. He's been overworked, underpaid, and now there's no money left to pay him at all. The man whose fuel system started everything walks away with nothing. The wheels are coming off the car. There's no money left. Trevor's fighting lawsuits in every direction. To make ends meet, he's forced to sell his home, his car, even his guns.

Trevor's empire might be crumbling, but he sits with a lesson his mom taught him. Never give up. It'll take some time, but he just has to find a life raft, even if it means throwing his business partners and investors to the sharks. There are people you're told to trust, lawyers, teachers, especially doctors. But what happens when you put your life in someone's hands and they betray you? The hit podcast, Dr. Death, is back. And this season is unlike any other.

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I feel like a legend. Two years after selling most of what he owns, Trevor is sneaking in some time on his motorcycle. It's early October 2014, and he's riding through the crisp Rocky Mountain era of Utah. Trevor is in his early 30s now and taking a few precious hours away from frantically trying to salvage his would-be business empire. And those hours are about to pay off. To dig himself out, Trevor did what Trevor always does.

Started a business. It might seem like a terrible time to found a new company, but Trevor did it anyway. In October 2012, Trevor and his dad launched De-Hybrid Systems with Trevor as a CEO. Now, you might be thinking, didn't Trevor already have a business called De-Hybrid? He did. That one is De-Hybrid Inc. This new one is De-hybrid Systems. Trevor took the new company, filed similar natural gas storage patents, and moved it right back into the original De-hybrid offices. Even his own employees didn't realize they were two different companies.

If this sounds confusing, that's the point. See, D-Hybrid Inc. is drowning in lawsuits and has a bunch of pissed-off investors. The new company, D-hybrid Systems, has a clean slate. No lawsuits, no outside investors. And instead of fuel systems, D-hybrid Systems is focused on natural gas storage tanks. Trevor has spent the past two years trying to sell the new company, and he's finally found a mark, Worthington Industries, a steel manufacturer. Much like he did with swift transportation, Trevor talks himself up to Worthington executives.

He sells them the idea of dehybrid storage tank on one hand while covering up all its problems with the other, because those natural gas storage tanks have been ripping loose, tearing right. off the frame while the trucks are in motion, nearly killing people in the process. To keep up appearances, Trevor has been sending employees out to fix them before his potential buyer notices. Lucky for Trevor, it works. Worthington purchases dehybrid systems for $12 million. This is craven and inexplicable. I don't even really understand how he just keeps finding money like this to buy stuff, but above all, this is so dangerous. Like, none of this stuff works.

Yeah, it is so dangerous. And not just for the people dealing with his storage tanks. Because once the sale goes through, Trevor is inundated with calls and texts from his small-time investors who are thrilled by the prospect of finally making back the money they put into D-hybrid. Except they invested in D-hybrid ink. Dehybrid Systems is a different company owned only by Trevor and his family. So when it sells for millions of dollars, the investors, the high school friends, the churchgoers,

the community members who bought stock in the first D-hybrid, don't see a dime. Not only that, the D-hybrid they did invest in goes under. Trevor will later offer those initial D-hybrid investors a payout worth less than one-tenth of their investment. But he'll overstate how much they got back and spin it by saying that repaying them anything at all is proof he's a good guy. His victims are left confused and broke, and they definitely aren't thinking of Trevor as a good guy. Like Rob Chambers, one of Trevor's early investors and former high school classmate. After the Worthington sale, Rob reached out to Trevor for some clarification on where his money went. Trevor brushed him off and Rob never recouped his 40,

$100,000 investment. Here's how Rob later described it to the Wall Street Journal. Oh, dude, that was everything I had. I was, like, looking back on it, I was so stupid. Who dumps their life savings into a company that isn't verified? So I'm going to be working a 9 to 5 forever, man. I don't have anything to fall back on. This is my nightmare.

And you know what? it's also one of those things that you're not going to know what you don't know. You trust someone, you think that they have expertise, you see that maybe they have some wealth. You want some of it. Sure, yeah, it makes sense at the time. And only in hindsight, you're like, wow, I just gave some random guy all of my money. That's exactly it. And that's also the power of Trevor. What he calls persistence is actually just lies. And he's really good at getting people to fall for them. While his investors pay the price, Trevor walks away with millions. The sale comes close enough to his birthday, that he throws himself a party and pays for 30 of his closest friends to come join him in Hawaii.

And then nearly ruins a trip by throwing a fit when his friends go on a hike without him. While his victims deal with the emotional blow of Trevor's betrayal, Trevor keeps moving. As the 2010s roll on and a new alternative fuel craze hits the market, markets, Trevor sees his chance. The dream from the train yard, the electric semi-truck, is suddenly within reach. And this time, he wants to be seen as more than a CEO. He'll call himself a revolutionary. It's December 2016 at the headquarters of a Nikola Motor Company in Salt Lake City. Bob Simpson is standing on the showroom floor, which has been transformed from a sterile work environment into a lively event space.

Bob has a long neck, salt and pepper hair, and a sick mustache. He's got 70s science teacher vibes, and he's an engineer working for Trevor Milton. Nikola is Trevor's new venture, the company he started after selling D-hybrid. This time, Trevor isn't pitching a simple engine conversion. He's promising something far bigger, a brand-new electric, zero-emission semi-truck that could transform the entire trucking industry. And today is the big reveal. Bob watches as a group of business types and truckers take their seats in front of a constructed

stage. At its center is a shiny white tarp covering something shaped very clearly like a semi-truck. In just a few minutes, the crowd will finally get to see the Nikola One, the vehicle of Trevor's dreams. Trevor, dressed in business casual chinos and a too tight button-down shirt, is soaking in the excitement. But Bob can't muster the same enthusiasm, because he helped build this truck and know something the crowd doesn't. Bob and his business partner, Paul, had been building out-of-the-box vehicle technologies in their garage, working on electric off-road vehicles using experimental tech that earned them a lot of attention.

About a year and a half ago, Trevor reached out. He flew to Oregon to meet Bob and Paul. He turned on the charm complimenting their work. Then he asked, could they take their electric off-road vehicle technology and scale it up? Trevor was imagining a hybrid natural gas electric truck. But during the meeting, Bob pushed back. Why not go all the way and build a fully electric electric. emission-free electric truck.

One that would be great for the environment. Sachi, can you read Trevor's response? He said, quote, I don't give a shit about the environment. I just want to make money. You know what? At least he's honest. I find that far less offensive than like any greenwashing

that could happen for a truck company that is on the verge of murdering people. Yeah, I think it's the first honest thing he has said. And that comment stuck with Bob, but he believed in the good that a hybrid truck could do. So he and Paul agreed to contract with Nicola. Unfortunately, working for Trevor downright sucks. He's demanding, rude, sets unrealistic expectations, and becomes scarily upset when they aren't met. Bob and Paul spent 2015 trying to meet Trevor's expectations, shipping parts as fast as they could to Nikola's headquarters in Utah.

But then, on a trip to headquarters, Bob saw that the parts they'd worked so hard to deliver on time hadn't even been opened. He realized Trevor only had a team of about a dozen employees working on assembling the truck, and most of them were not experienced auto professionals. Bob starts to doubt he'll live long enough to see a Nicola truck. And yet, just a few months later, in May of 2016, Nicola announced to him. itself to the world with a press release promising a near-zero-emission electric semi-truck. Bob was surprised by the early announcement, given the state of things when he visited. He figured maybe Trevor just wanted to get the word out about Nikola in a red-hot EV market.

But Bob was even more upset when just three months later, Nicola claimed the truck, called the Nikola 1, would be zero emissions. And a few weeks after that, the company went even further, claiming the Nikola 1 would be powered by hydrogen fuel cells, an old but incredibly difficult to engineer technology that produces water, not smog, as a byproduct. That would really make Nikola stand out in the electric vehicle world. There's just one problem. The truck Bob's been working on is powered by natural gas, not hydrogen. Those are two wildly different technologies.

When Bob talks to the other engineers, he learns that Nikaula doesn't even have hydrogen technology yet. The Nikaola press release had called Trevor a quote, visionary CEO. Bob can see the vision Trevor's going for, but so far, it's all smoke and mirrors. This is a really impressive business model where you just like make shit up and hope for the best. I'm amazed at how many companies, especially companies that are rooted in invention and car companies that are just like, hey, what if the car had boobs?

And they're like, yeah, what if it did? Here's one billion dollars. I know. It feels like a child's science fair where it's like, that's a big idea. And you deserve a ribbon that is worth millions of dollars. Yeah. Well, that brings Bob to tonight, Trevor's big unveiling of the Nikola one. After everything he's seen, part of Bob almost didn't want to come, but curiosity got the better of him. Because he knows what's really inside that truck, or more accurately, what isn't inside. From the outside, the Nikola One looks like the vehicle of the future. It's all smooth lines, dramatic lights, and red, white, and blue.

But beneath the shiny shell, it still has its original natural gas turbine. Nothing about this truck is hydrogen powered, and Trevor has explicitly told Nikaela employees they can't talk to anyone at the event and say otherwise. Bob knows this truck isn't operational because he's been asked to plug it in for the show. As he wiggles under the cramped stage and connects the power cord that turns on the truck's lights,

he can't help but laugh to himself. This is nuts. Lying in the cramped space underneath the revolving stage, Bob hears Trevor tell an auditorium full of excited industry insiders how real this truck is. It's my pleasure to actually let you guys enjoy the night,

see the truck, know it's real, touch it, feel how sturdy it is. You're going to see that this is a real truck. This is not a pusher. Thank you so much, everyone. I appreciate it. Thank you. This reminds me of that episode of Arrested Development

where they have to build a house in like two days and they obviously can't do that, so they just build the outside. outside of it, and it immediately falls apart. You know, it's so funny because he keeps mentioning how real it is. And in my mind, if someone is pointing out something I could see with my own eyes and telling me it's real, it's like, you don't have to keep saying that. Yeah. And Bob can't believe it.

A pusher is an auto industry term for a model that can't drive under its own power. This truck doesn't even have a power source. Trevor is blatantly lying on stage, and there's a room full of Nicola engine. who know it. How can Trevor possibly think he'll get away with this? Now that Bob's seen behind the curtain and under the stage, he wonders how he could have ever believed Trevor in the first place. But he won't be the last to fall for Trevor's charm. Trevor will take his incredible claims and ostentatious lies about the Nikola One out for a joyride all the way to the top of the stock market. But this journey is bound to end in a

fiery crash. It's the summer of 2020, and like most people during the pandemic, Trevor is living on Zoom. He's nearly 40 now, and he's got an elaborate digital backdrop, a gray wall with textured hexagons and a blocky N logo for Nikola, backlit with a cool blue glow. A lot of people in the Manosphere have seen this background lately because Trevor is on a nonstop press junket. He's been doing podcasts and interviews with car bros, business bros, and even the podcast, Rise of the Young, hosted by a literal teenager. Trevor's been hopping on the phone with anyone who will speak to him because Nicola Motor Company is about to go public.

He's been working toward this moment since the unveiling of the Nikola 1 four years ago. Since then, electric vehicles have gone mainstream, in large part thanks to Elon Musk. and Tesla. But Trevor's niche, the hydrogen-powered semi-truck, sets Nikola apart. Their big announcements have the auto industry buzzing. Trevor claims Nikola has $10 billion worth of reservations for future trucks and says they've planned a network of hydrogen fueling stations across a country, just like Tesla did with their network of electric chargers. Now, none of this has happened yet, But Trevor is out here making promises that it will.

And he secures more than $500 million in investments valuing Nicola at $3 billion. Remember when Trevor told Bob Simpson that he only cared about making money? Well, mission accomplished. He's been spending it too, on jets, a big wedding, and the most expensive ranch in the state of Utah, which he purchased for $32.5 million. money aside, this public launch represents something more. Sure, people are buying stock in Nikola,

but in another sense, they're buying stock in him. Trevor tells the same stories over and over in interviews about his childhood light-bop moment at that train yard and how his failed startups taught him the lessons he's brought to Nikola. But he also gets a little snarky and really cringy. He hosts a segment on Instagram, called Trevor with trolls, where he reads out mean comments and response to them. He even wears a special hat that says, Trevor with trolls while he does it.

Just like you, Sachi. I obviously resent this because this is my bailiwick, and how dare he enter my space of being an obnoxious little bitch on the internet. I think if you run a company, great, then you should be neither seen nor heard. There used to be a time when you were a CEO, Fortune 500 CEO, and nobody knew who you were. You had no name recognition. You were not famous. You weren't running your GD mouth on a podcast.

Those are places for Wieners like you and I, Sarah. Exactly. People who don't own stuff. Yes. They are ruining what is our place. I don't like it. Agreed, because you have to have nothing to lose to clap back. And they have so much to lose, and that's why they're bad at it.

Yeah. Even worse, Trevor. also tries so hard to be deep. Listen to the advice he gives a teenage podcaster on The Casey Adams Show. You can't build that confidence just by business. You have to build it socially too, which means you have to go out and serve other people. And if you're serving other people, you can learn to love yourself. And by learning to love yourself again, you can learn to love the process of going into business.

Okay, I don't know what that Madlibs meant. I guess it's true, but I can't think of anybody less equipped to tell you that message than some guy building a fake truck company. I also don't think anyone building a company should love themselves. Well, they clearly don't. That's why they had to do this in the first place. That's like asking a writer, like, what do I do for my self-confidence? Don't ask me.

I am clinically depressed. These interviews, by the way, are designed to sell Nicola, and they're also meant to sell Trevor as a titan of the industry. Never mind that he's built Nicola by lying at every step. But the public doesn't know that. What they see are things like the so-called Nikola in Motion ad. This is the ad from the beginning of the episode, Sachi. Remember Noah, the actor who was hired to sit in the cab of a truck while it rolled downhill?

In 2018, Nikola PR posted a clip with the caption, quote, Behold, the Nikola One in motion. Technically, this is true. The Nikola One is moving. but not because of a zero-emission hydrogen cell system, gravity did the work. Trevor conveniently leaves that fact out in his podcast appearances. Trevor's PR push is semi-successful.

He's not building a brand name as powerful as Elon's, not yet, but he's convinced more than a few people that he could. They're mainly small investors at this point, the kind who are often less financially savvy and more susceptible to hype for hype-same. They go all in on Nikola, even taking out loans or using their life savings, all to get in on what could be the next Tesla. And it is paying off.

Less than a week after going public and without a single working vehicle on the road, Nikola stock soars to triple its initial offering. On June 9, 2020, Trevor takes to Twitter to brag about it. Sachi, please can't. Can you read us his tweet? He says, quote, I've wanted to say this my whole adult life. Nicola is now worth more than Ford.

It may go up and down and that's life, but I'll do my part to be the most accessible and direct executive on Twitter. Others will follow. Nobody wants this. No. Nobody wants to be able to find an accessible executive on Twitter. Just pay everybody a fair rate.

Don't be weird. and ideally your truck company should work. It should not be a hot wheel situation where you like rev the wheels up and then let it go and it crashes into a wall or like your cat pushes it away. What is he talking about? Also, he doesn't have friends. That's why he wants to be accessible.

This is all because he's friendless. Ah, yes. Also, being accessible doesn't necessarily make someone a good CEO. But it does make Trevor's priorities clear, make a name for himself, and make money. Finally, Trevor has reached his peak. And this time, he's taken his investors with him. But much like the Nikola one in-motion commercial, it is all downhill from here.

It's June 2020 and Nate Anderson is scrolling Twitter. He's got dark, thinning hair and a shaggy goatee, a little encamped in a sophisticated tech bro kind of way. Scrolling is basically part of his job. Nate is the founder of Hindenburg. research, and what Hindenburg does is Hunt. They find companies with financial irregularities, expose them, and short the stock. Nate catches liars and profits on their downfall, and he's very good at it. He's scrolling and scrolling until he stumbles on Trevor's tweet, bragging about beating Ford in the stock market.

Trevor's entitlement instantly sets off alarm bells for Nate, and Nate trusts his instincts. He's taken down fraudsters before, and his assessments are rarely wrong. Nate sounds like us if we knew how the stock market worked. Yeah, he's like us if we knew how to do more things. Yeah, if we could do anything at all, we would be Nate. Exactly. And after some light digging, Nate discovers that Nicola doesn't actually have any vehicles on the road, just reservations for future trucks. That makes him wonder, why did the stock climb so high?

He expands to researching Trevor himself. And luckily, Trevor loves doing interviews and posting about his entire life on Twitter, which means he's left behind a trail of breadcrumbs the size of baguettes. Nate spends hours sifting through videos of Trevor and quickly comes to a conclusion. If Trevor says it, it's probably a lie. Like the video of Trevor pitching government partners, claiming that Nikola's headquarters is powered by solar panels on its roof. A picture of the top of Nicholas headquarters reveals,

that's not true. Or a since-deleted video tour of Nikola's offices where Trevor bragged about building some of the best electric inverters in the world and said other companies were begging to use them. But Nate notices a piece of tape on the inverter. Turns out it was covering up the real manufacturer's information. Hint, it was not Nicola.

And then there's the hydrogen problem. One of the sticking points for Nicola's hydrogen powered trucks is the hydrogen itself. You can't just go to any gas station and fill up your car with hydrogen. Nicola had promised customers they'd build a network of hydrogen stations across the country. But that's nowhere close to happening. Nicola hasn't even been able to produce hydrogen at their own headquarters. Nate is shocked. He's investigated a lot of liars, but none have been this obvious.

I guess I can understand if somebody presents to you a company, you're going to think, well, it surely must exist in time and space. Like the very basis of it cannot be bullshit. But as we know on the show, sometimes it's bullshit from the beginning. Not to mention, he found a lot of it. all of this just by looking at the guy's Twitter, basically. As usual, one Google could save your life. And if all of that wasn't enough,

Nate's been able to get in touch with Trevor's former coworkers who have lots to share. Like Mike Shrout, Trevor's business partner at D-Hybrid, who he screwed out of a 50-50 handshake deal. Well, not only is Mike a self-taught engineer, he's a meticulous record keeper. And when Nate contacts him, Mike doesn't hesitate to hand over emails and old photos, including a fundraising PowerPoint where Trevor lied about having an experienced chief technology officer on staff.

Other insiders tell Nate that the Nikola One in motion commercial was a sham that purposely misled the public. Using the video as reference, Nate finds the exact hill from the commercial and sends someone to check it out. It has a very slight downward tilt, one that isn't noticeable on camera. But does that really make a difference? Absolutely. Nate has his investigator take his Honda CRV to the top of the hill, put it in neutral, and let it go. The car coasts at speeds of almost 60 miles per hour.

For two months, Nate gathers evidence with the intent of shorting Nicola and exposing Trevor for the fraud he is. But as he finishes his 15,000 word expose and uploads it to his site, he pauses, hovering his mouse over the publish button. He can't help but feel a pit in his stomach. After all, Trevor is making deals with real companies. Just two days earlier, on September 8th, 2020, General Motors announced a partnership with Nicola. Do they know something Nate doesn't? In the end, Trevor's cocky smile is what makes Nate press publish on the morning of September 10th. He just knows this guy is lying about everything and he's ready for everyone else to see it too.

Trevor thought he was going to drive off into the sunset, but Nate's dogged reporting is about to force Trevor to hit the brakes. Trevor's a car crash waiting to happen and Nate's going to make sure everyone, including the legal system, can't look away. Whether you're exploring your current fascinations or discovering new ones, Ottawa has all the stories that will introduce you to your most fascinating self. Tap into a whole new world of heated conversations with a saucy romantic series. Become your friend group's sci-fi expert on the latest blockbuster book-to-screen adaptation.

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fascinating. I'm Raza Jaffrey, and in the new season of The Spy Who, they open the file on Benedict Arnold, the spy who betrayed the American Revolution. America is fighting to free itself from the British Empire, and one of its foremost generals is Benedict Arnold. He's a smuggler turned battlefield hero and admired for his aggressive tactics. But when a war wound, a new wife, debts and politics test his loyalty to the mags, he turns spy and devises a plot to shatter the revolution and help Britain capture rebel commander-in-chief, General George Washington. And that plot would make him the most infamous traitor in US history. Follow the Spy Who Now, wherever you listen to podcasts.

You can also listen to the full season of The Spy Who betrayed the American Revolution early and ad-free unaudible. I feel like a letter. It's July 2021, and Trevor is in Wyoming at one of his many houses. He's looking out at a beautiful mountain landscape. When his attorney calls with bad news, Trevor is about to be indicted for securities and wire fraud. It's been less than a year since Nate published his expose

on Trevor's history of fraud, and Nicola's dubious business practices. Trevor stepped down as chairman to take the stink off Nicola, although later he'll say it was to be with his wife while she dealt with health issues. Definitely not because his lying ass had been laid bare for the world to see. While Trevor retreated from the public eye, his victims finally felt emboldened.

And it wasn't just the wronged investors. The day after Trevor resigned, two women came forward and alleged that Trevor had sexually assaulted them. One was a former employee, and another was his cousin. Trevor denies these allegations. Trevor might be trying to lay low, but the Justice Department isn't going to let him off the hook.

Their case is built on something almost absurdly simple, Trevor's own words. All those podcasts, all those tweets, all those interviews where he bragged about technology that didn't exist. The DOJ says he lied to investors, quote, on social media, on television, on podcasts, and in print. Trevor basically built the prosecution's case for them one interview at a time. I don't want to encourage people not to talk to the press, obviously, because, you know, we are the press.

But you shouldn't talk to them if you are lying, I think. I'm going to be brave enough to say that. You know, some people need to learn how to move in silence. Yeah. So in September of 2022, Trevor is called to the U.S. Attorney's Manhattan Courthouse to face the music and a cast of characters from his past. Trevor isn't happy to see any of them. Mike Schroote, the D-Hybrid Engineer, shows up. And remember Bob Simpson, the guy who plugged in the Nicola One on stage?

Turns out that while they worked together, Trevor went back. to an old trick, filing patents based on designs Bob and his partner Paul had developed without putting their names on them. Paul had a particular disdain for Trevor's arrogance. Around the time that Nicola went public, he started anonymously tweeting pictures and firsthand testimonies debunking Trevor's claims about a functional hydrogen-powered truck. And when Paul is called to testify, he doesn't hold back. he describes the electric converter lie

and the Niccolo 1 in motion lie. He even references simply the big lie. When the prosecution asks what the big lie means, Paul responds, quote, the idea that this was a functional and completed truck. Okay, perfect. So just like the entire business then. Yeah, basically, anything but a rendering.

And with each witness, the prosecution makes their case clear. Trevor is the reason small-time investors believed in Nicola stock. He repeatedly made false claims about the state of the company's vehicles and technology, and he did it loudly, publicly, and frequently. Meanwhile, Trevor's main defense, as laid out by his lawyers, is that he never intended to deceive anyone. He had a good faith belief that what he was saying was true. The jury doesn't buy it.

When the judge reads out the verdict, guilty on three of the four counts, Trevor's jaw drops. He tells reporters after, quote, I've done nothing wrong. Trevor's conviction is a welcome relief to the thousands of people he screwed over. But just like the Nicola 1, Trevor is always in motion. And this time, he's trying to find one last off-ramp. It's September 24. Trevor is now in his early 40s, looking more worn and weary. He's sitting in a studded leather chair inside a tastefully decorated man cave den,

wearing expensive jeans, a loose button down, and glasses. There's a camera in front of him. He's getting interviewed for a documentary he's releasing about himself. Since his conviction three years earlier, Trevor's appeals have kept him out of prison. and he hasn't stopped fighting his case. Here's just one of the reasons Trevor thinks he was indicted. Just so many emotions because I didn't understand why are they indicted me. And he says, because of your speech.

Yeah, it was how I used my verb tense and conversations. They indicted him because of what he said or how he said it, because I'm pretty sure it's what he said, right? I think it's what he said, thinks he's done, you know, all of it. Everything, yeah. He's indicted him because of everything he's ever done, but he's like, it's because of my verb conjugation. Exactly. Be for real, dog.

Come on. The verbs indicted him. It happens to so many great men. In a way, this conviction has gotten Trevor what he wanted all along. Recognition. He's a white male victim, and his story has struck a chord with the manosphere in a way that Nikola alone never could. Along with his own documentary, Trevor has been doing long-form podcasts with Jack Dudes advertising gun-themed coffee and even Tucker Carlson himself. Trevor says the government had a target on his back because he was so successful so early, because Big Oil was after him, because nobody on the jury was a quote,

look-a-like person, a-k.a-a-white man, and that they hated the wealthy. In October 24, a month after he sits down for the documentary, Trevor takes one last page out of the Elon Musk playbook. He donates $1.8 million to Donald Trump's re-election campaign. And sure enough, in March 2025, President Trump repays Trevor in kind with a full pardon. Trevor's pardon also conveniently negates the hundreds of millions of dollars of restitution owed to his investors, meaning more money for him to produce an hour and 45-minute documentary, explaining why he's actually the good guy and the whole world is out to get him. Never mind that he had to trample over small-time investors and exploited employees to get there.

But hey, at least his company was briefly worth more than Ford. Sachi, you know, it's always great when there's a happy ending to these stories, isn't it? I'm really relieved that everything worked out for this guy and seemingly for no one else. It's really incredible that you can basically just like pay your way into a presidential pardon. It is just so insane that this guy is totally fine. Yeah, I mean, what a clean shot. He came up with a nonsense story about a nonsense company that was completely full of nonsense. and then was pardoned for all of the nonsense.

I imagine all these people lost their money and never got any of it back, too. I guess a lot of these guys want to be like, you know, Tony Stark, swaggy, revolutionizing the world, blah, blah, blah. But he was, is so deeply a loser in every way and legitimately didn't do anything. He didn't do anything. There was nothing to show for it.

someone plugged something in. Like, it really reminded me of Theranos when the way Elizabeth Holmes employees had to pretend that those little boxes were actually reading the blood and not doing anything weird. It's like it's all smoke and mirrors and like weird toys these people make up. And even that actually works probably better than this. Yeah. I mean, I think this case obviously has a lot of similarities to Theranos, which is someone who looks the way they want a CEO to look like talks in a particularly strange affectation. In this case,

he's like kind of has like a nonsense story about what all of this means to him and the value of the company. And of course, like you take a look behind the curtain and it's just like a bunch of cockroaches crawling over a control pad. There's nothing to it. No, there's nothing to it. And like, obviously anyone who believes him is stupid, but it's like, you think out of all of human existence, everything that's happened since the Industrial Revolution, you think this is a guy who's going to change trucks, a guy who's never done anything, who liked trains as a kid. You know, if someone could create an emissions-free truck, obviously that would change the world. But to be honest, I don't think it's ever going to happen because it would have to take so much lobbying. It would

have to destroy the oil and gas industry in some way. No part of it makes real sense as to how was able to do this so quickly if you thought about it for like more than two seconds. Yeah, I mean, maybe the lesson here is that if there is a CEO that's coming forward with some sort of business model that will inherently disrupt the investors that they have, the market that they're speaking to, their colleagues in the CEO space, it's probably bullshit. Because with Theranos, it was the same thing. If that thing worked, it would have completely changed health care forever. and there are a lot of people who were investing in her who probably didn't want it to be that different.

Without getting too in the weeds about capitalism, blah, blah, blah, I think the biggest red flag for anyone who has a way to make a lot of money, regardless of whether or not it's real, is that it is a vehicle for them to make content. Like, why are you making content when you have something that's making you money? Like, you want to be liked that badly and put yourself out there in that way. That's the red flag. Someone who makes content who's trying to sell you something is fucked in the head. Yeah, because the reality is that

if you're going to make content online, you are selling something again, which is you. So why do I have to buy the product and the person? Is the product not enough that I have to buy the person? Anyone who's trying to innovate

and is talking a lot is stupid. You should just let the work speak for itself. Yeah, take it from us, two people who talk all day. Don't listen to anybody who talks too much. Yeah, but this is the content is the money.

You know, you think I'm out here being rich making content? Yeah, that's true. We are only selling ourselves, and that's how you know we're real, because we have nothing else to offer you, but volume. Listen, if we ever hit it rich, there will be signs, and the signs will be that you'll never see or hear of us again, you know? Yeah, exactly. As long as you know where we are, we are poor.

Thank you. That's exactly it. Follow Scamfluencers on the Audible app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes of Scamphillencers ad free by joining Audible. From Audible originals, this is Trevor Milton, the Elon Musk of semi-trucks for scamfluencers. I'm Sarah Hagey. And I'm Sachi Cole. If you have a tip for us on a story that you think we should cover, please email us at

scampluencers at audible.com. We use many sources in our research. A few that were particularly helpful were reporting from Ben Foldy of the Wall Street Journal, Nicola's Trevor Milton left a trail of bitterness on his way to founding the electric truck startup by Roger Parloff, Trevor Milton, inside the Nikola Founder's Timulchua's Past by Mark Matusek, and a dubious truck, a whistleblower army, and inept spies inside the very weird Nikola saga by Ali Conti. Kyle Rabi wrote this episode, Additional Writing by Us, Sachi Cole and Sarah Haggy. Alex Burns was the story editor.

Our senior producers are Sarah Eni and Ginny Boone. Our associate producer is Charlotte Miller. Our managing producer is Desi Blaylock. Fact-checking by Kalina Newman. Sound design by James Morgan. Additional audio assistance provided by Augustine Lim. Our music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Frieson Sink. Executive producer for Audible is Jenny Lauer Beckman.

The head of created development at Audible is Kate Naven. The head of Audible Originals, North America, is Marshall Louis. The chief content officer is Rachel Giazza. Copyright 2026 by Audible Originals LLC. Sound recording copyright, 2026 by Audible Originals LLC. Whether you're exploring your current fascinations or discovering new ones, Ottawa has all the stories that will introduce you to your most fascinating self.

Tap into a whole new world of heated conversations with a saucy romantic series. Become your friend group's sci-fi expert on the latest blockbuster book-to-screen adaptation. or find unexpected reveals through the exclusive episodes of a viral true crime podcast. However you choose to listen, Audible keeps you fascinated so you can be just as fascinating. All in one easy app, with plans now starting at 899, you'll get access to over 900,000 audiobooks and podcasts, including trending bestsellers, the hottest new releases, and exclusive podcasts you won't find anywhere else. Sign up now to become a member and get any audiobook every month, Plus exclusive podcasts.

Plans now start at 899. Audible. Be fascinated. Be fascinating.