Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton called for leadership change at the electric-truck maker and urged shareholders to vote against upcoming company-backed proposals in his first social-media posts in years.
Milton, who was convicted of securities fraud last year, said in identical posts Thursday on his Instagram and LinkedIn pages that he voted about 50 million of his shares against all proposals from the upcoming annual shareholder meeting. He said investors should also vote “no” to reelecting directors and a measure to allow the issuance of new shares.
“The company does not need new shares, they need new leadership,” the posts said.
Milton is the company’s largest individual shareholder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. He resigned in September 2020 and was later found guilty of defrauding investors. He is awaiting sentencing, due to take place in September.
Milton’s representatives couldn’t immediately be reached for further comment.
A spokesperson for Nikola declined to comment on the posts. The company’s annual shareholders meeting was adjourned on June 7 until July 6 to garner enough votes for Proposal 2, the only outstanding resolution, the spokesperson said by phone. Proposal 2 is a measure to let the company issue new shares.
Nikola’s shares soared 30% Thursday to $1.40, part of a seven-day rally that has sent shares up 158%.
