Nikola shares surge 18% after company delivers its first EV truck, says more to come

Nikola shares jumped 20% on Thursday after the electric truck maker completed delivery of its first vehicle.

The surge in the stock came a day after the company announced on Twitter that its first customer delivery is done, signaling more to come.

Earlier this week, Nikola said it agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission $125 million to settle charges it defrauded investors by misleading them about its products, technical capacity and business prospects.

The SEC said Nikola is responsible for misleading claims made by the company’s founder and former chief executive officer, Trevor Milton. He pleaded not guilty to fraud charges brought by the Justice Department in July.

Nikola went public in June 2020 by merging with a SPAC. The stock hit a record high above $90 a share soon after the IPO but came all the way back down due to the regulatory probe.

A slew of pre-revenue electric vehicle start-ups sought to go public through SPAC deals following Nikola, which garnered regulators’ attention. Nikola was one of at least four EV companies under investigation by federal agencies about potentially misleading investors.

— CNBC’s Tom Franck and Mike Wayland contributed reporting.