Is Nikola’s stock price dropping due to #MeToo claims?

Some like to tackle their problems head on; others like to run away and hide. The latter can be said about Nikola founder Trevor Milton who resigned on Sunday, leaving Wall Street baffled with his spontaneous decision. Milton bought stock in the company only days before his sudden departure causing many to wonder: “Where is Milton off to?”

Almost immediately after Milton left, tweets began to surface revealing why he may have run off so quickly. According to tweets from the CEO of Entrata, David Bateman, women have come forward claiming Milton sexually assaulted them. In light of the recent #MeToo movement, people have been tackling sexual abuse & sexual harassment head-on – scaring Milton away from his company. 

Not fooling anyone

Bateman’s tweets went on to address the sexual assault claims against Milton in detail. In one instance, a woman accused Milton of groping her when she was 18 years old during a work trip. Milton had hired the woman for an out-of-town modeling shoot in 2011. He had arranged the trip so that he’d be sleeping in the same home as the model. 

The model stated Milton climbed into her bed & groped her against her will; after pushing him off, he became angry but ended up sleeping on the floor next to her bed all night – desperate much? 

A series of sexual assault allegations against Trevor Milton emerged, including one from his own cousin. A tweet surfaced that said, “Trevor Milton is my cousin. On September 12, 1999–the day of our grandfather’s funeral–Trevor sexually assaulted me. I was 15 years old, and he was 18.” The tweet was confirmed by the Wall Street Journal, who published a story on Monday regarding Milton’s assault allegations.

The Wall Street Journal wrote, “Aubrey Smith, who says she is Mr. Milton’s first cousin, claimed in a series of tweets that he inappropriately touched her when she was 15 and visiting Utah for their grandfather’s funeral in September 1999. She says Mr. Milton was 18 years old at the time.” Ms. Smith said she made the Twitter post because she wanted to go public after Milton was exposed by other women.

Following the list of sexual assault allegations against Milton, many reporters began to dig further into the story. CNBC’s Dawn Kopecki wrote on Twitter, “If any women out here experienced what they considered unwanted attention in any way from Nikola founder Trevor Milton or knows anyone that did, I want to listen to your story . . . .” 

Running away from the truth?

Trevor Milton resigned less than two weeks after he was accused of being an “intricate fraud” and just six days after Hindenburg’s follow up report stating it viewed Nikola’s response as a “tacit admission of securities fraud”. 

Despite the allegations against Milton, GM will continue to try to work with Nikola. Though after multiple sexual allegations against Milton surfaced, many wonder if there could be more to come.