What happened to Nikola's founder Trevor Milton?

Nikola founder Trevor Milton was convicted of three counts of fraud in October 2022 for making false and misleading statements to investors about Nikola's technology capabilities. Milton claimed Nikola had developed proprietary hydrogen technology and manufacturing capabilities that were substantially exaggerated. He was sentenced to 4 years in prison in 2023. Milton resigned from Nikola in 2020 after short-seller Hindenburg Research published a fraud report.

What happened to the USPS electric delivery truck contract?

The United States Postal Service selected Oshkosh Defense to produce Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV) in February 2021. Workhorse lost the bid after being considered a top contender — a devastating setback for the company that had positioned the USPS contract as its primary near-term large-scale revenue opportunity. Workhorse subsequently filed a protest of the contract award but ultimately did not prevail. The USPS contract loss has been the defining event in Workhorse's financial deterioration.

Is hydrogen fuel cell trucking a viable market?

Hydrogen fuel cell trucks are considered viable for specific long-haul applications where battery range is insufficient — driving 500+ miles without charging opportunities. Companies like Hyzon Motors, Toyota, Daimler Truck (Mercedes), and Hyundai are all developing hydrogen semi-trucks alongside Nikola. The challenge is hydrogen fueling infrastructure — building a nationwide network of high-pressure hydrogen fueling stations for trucking is a multi-billion dollar investment that is still in early stages.

brimindinvest.com / compare / wkhs-vs-rivnLIVE

WKHS

Workhorse Group, Inc. · Electric Vehicles

$3.03

+7.07% this month

VERSUS

⟷

COMPARE

NKLA

Nikola Corporation · Electric Vehicles

N/A

N/A this month

Scoreboard verdict

Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin

WKHS

0

NKLA

0

MIXED SETUP

Comparison scoreboard

MIXED SETUP

AI Score

WKHS 22.8

NKLA N/A

1Y Return

WKHS -74.37%

NKLA N/A

Fwd P/E

WKHS -1.55

NKLA N/A

Target Up.

WKHS -0.99%

NKLA N/A

Op. Margin

WKHS N/A

NKLA N/A

Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026

Quick take

WKHS vs NKLA Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside

WKHS and NKLA are both severely financially distressed small-cap EV commercial vehicle companies. Workhorse focuses on last-mile delivery trucks and lost its key USPS contract opportunity. Nikola has faced fraud conviction of its founder and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while attempting to commercialize semi-trucks. Both represent highly speculative investments in the EV commercial vehicle space — survival is genuinely uncertain for both companies.

WKHS vs NKLA — Workhorse Group (last-mile electric delivery truck company with minimal revenue and severe financial distress following the failed USPS NGDV bid) versus Nikola Corporation (hydrogen and battery electric semi-truck company operating under founder fraud legacy and Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring while attempting BEV and FCEV commercialization).

Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026

WKHS and NKLA are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly.

Normalized 1Y performance

WKHS

NKLA

Not enough data to chart yet.

Recent returns

WKHS

NKLA

Analyst price targets & sentiment

WKHS · 1 analysts

Price target range

analyst low$3.00
analyst high$3.00
analyst mean$3.00
current price$3.03

-1.0% upside to analyst mean

NKLA

Price target data unavailable

N/A

Who should consider this stock?

WKHS is suitable only for:

→highly speculative investors with very high risk tolerance who understand Workhorse's survival is uncertain and allocate only what they can afford to lose entirely
→traders speculating on potential contract announcements or strategic partnerships that could temporarily re-rate the stock regardless of fundamental business prospects
→investors with very long time horizons who believe last-mile electric delivery fleet electrification will eventually create demand for Workhorse's vehicles if the company survives long enough
→anyone who accepts this is binary — Workhorse either survives and grows or goes to zero — not appropriate as a meaningful portfolio position for most investors

NKLA is suitable only for:

→highly speculative traders and distressed investors who understand Nikola's Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring creates extreme uncertainty about recovery value for equity holders
→investors who believe Nikola's hydrogen truck technology and Iveco partnership can be reorganized into a viable business following the bankruptcy restructuring
→those who understand fraud legacy, bankruptcy proceedings, and the extremely long path from restructuring to commercial hydrogen truck scale — a multi-year high-risk recovery story
→anyone who accepts that equity recovery in bankruptcy situations is highly uncertain — most equity investors in Chapter 11 companies receive little or no recovery value

Performance & AI score

Metric	WKHS	NKLA
AI score	22.8	N/A
AI rank	#3902	N/A
Latest close	$3.03	N/A
1M return	+7.07%	N/A
6M return	-44.30%	N/A
1Y return	-74.37%	N/A

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)

How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?

Period	WKHS	NKLA
1Y ago	$2.56K (-74.4%) started 2025-06-18	N/A
5Y ago	$0.68 (-100.0%) started 2021-06-18	N/A
10Y ago	$1.46 (-100.0%) started 2016-06-20	N/A

Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.

Valuation & upside potential

Metric	WKHS	NKLA
Market cap	$33.01M	N/A
Trailing P/E	N/A	N/A
Forward P/E	-1.55	N/A
Price/Sales	1.35	0.47
EV/Revenue	2.37	N/A
Analyst target	$3.00	N/A
Target upside	-0.99%	N/A

Growth, profitability & risk

Metric	WKHS	NKLA
Revenue growth	278.10%	N/A
Earnings growth	N/A	N/A
EPS growth	N/A	N/A
FCF margin	-23.58%	N/A
Operating margin	N/A	N/A
Profit margin	-292.32%	N/A
ROIC proxy	-247.68%	N/A
Return on equity	-247.68%	N/A
Dividend yield	0.00%	N/A
Beta	2.64	-0.60
Debt/equity	106.54	N/A
Current ratio	1.23	N/A
Quick ratio	0.10	N/A

Drawdown & downside risk

Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.

1Y risk snapshot

WKHS max drawdown95.59%

NKLA max drawdownN/A

WKHS max wkly drop51.58%

NKLA max wkly dropN/A

5Y risk snapshot

WKHS max drawdown100.00%

NKLA max drawdownN/A

WKHS max wkly drop53.53%

NKLA max wkly dropN/A

10Y risk snapshot

WKHS max drawdown100.00%

NKLA max drawdownN/A

WKHS max wkly drop53.53%

NKLA max wkly dropN/A

Performance metrics by period

Period	Metric	WKHS	NKLA
1Y	Growth	-74.37%	N/A
	CAGR	-74.39%	N/A
	Sharpe ratio	-0.42	N/A
	Max drawdown	95.59%	N/A
	Max daily drop	36.43%	N/A
	Max wkly drop	51.58%	N/A
5Y	Growth	-99.99%	N/A
	CAGR	-85.33%	N/A
	Sharpe ratio	-1.34	N/A
	Max drawdown	100.00%	N/A
	Max daily drop	36.43%	N/A
	Max wkly drop	53.53%	N/A
10Y	Growth	-99.99%	N/A
	CAGR	-58.67%	N/A
	Sharpe ratio	-0.23	N/A
	Max drawdown	100.00%	N/A
	Max daily drop	47.46%	N/A
	Max wkly drop	53.53%	N/A

Business comparison

Category	WKHS	NKLA
Company	Workhorse Group, Inc.	Nikola Corporation
Sector	Electric Vehicles	Electric Vehicles
Industry	N/A	N/A
Core business	Workhorse Group is a small-cap electric commercial vehicle company focused on last-mile delivery trucks and drones. Workhorse's W56 and W750 electric delivery trucks target postal service and commercial delivery fleets. Workhorse famously bid on the USPS Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) contract but lost to Oshkosh Defense in 2021 — a major setback. The company has continued developing electric delivery trucks for commercial fleets with limited production volumes. Workhorse is in serious financial distress with minimal revenue.	Nikola Corporation is a heavy-duty trucking company initially claiming breakthrough hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric semi-truck technology. Nikola's founder Trevor Milton was convicted of fraud in 2022 for making false and misleading statements about Nikola's technology capabilities. Nikola has since pivoted to producing battery electric (Nikola Tre BEV) semi-trucks at its Coolidge, Arizona facility in partnership with Iveco. Nikola has also developed a hydrogen fuel cell truck and is building hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The company has produced a few thousand trucks but faces severe financial challenges.
Investor focus	Investors focus on Workhorse's delivery truck customer orders, limited production ramp, financial sustainability, and whether the company can survive long enough to achieve meaningful commercial delivery vehicle volume.	Investors watch Nikola's truck production volumes, hydrogen fuel cell truck commercialization, hydrogen infrastructure development, fleet customer orders, and the company's financial runway.

WKHS strengths

→Last-mile delivery truck focus in a real market: electric last-mile delivery vehicles have genuine fleet customer demand as carriers electrify delivery operations — Workhorse's focus is a real commercial opportunity
→W56 truck production attempts: Workhorse has attempted limited production runs of delivery trucks, providing more operational commercial vehicle experience than pure engineering companies
→Drone delivery development: Workhorse has developed drone delivery systems as a complementary technology to electric ground vehicles — providing potential regulatory approval and delivery use case diversification

NKLA strengths

→Actual truck production underway: Nikola has produced BEV semi-trucks at its Arizona facility — moving from zero to actual production (however limited) is a meaningful milestone vs early-stage competitors
→Hydrogen fuel cell semi-truck differentiation: hydrogen fuel cell trucks address long-haul trucking where battery range is insufficient — hydrogen provides an alternative to battery-only electrification for Class 8 trucks
→Iveco manufacturing partnership: Nikola's partnership with European commercial vehicle manufacturer Iveco provides access to manufacturing expertise and established supply chain relationships

Risks to watch — WKHS

→Severe financial distress: Workhorse has extremely limited revenue, ongoing losses, and balance sheet challenges — survivability is the primary investment risk
→USPS NGDV contract loss was a devastating blow: losing the USPS contract to Oshkosh removed Workhorse's most significant revenue opportunity and demoralized investors and management
→Very small production scale: Workhorse has produced very few vehicles commercially — scaling production with limited capital is an existential challenge

Risks to watch — NKLA

→Fraud conviction legacy damages credibility: Trevor Milton's conviction for securities fraud casts a permanent shadow on Nikola's corporate reputation and investor trust
→Ongoing financial distress: Nikola has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 — the company has been restructuring its debt and operations to survive
→Hydrogen infrastructure chicken-and-egg problem: Nikola's hydrogen fuel cell trucks require hydrogen fueling stations that don't widely exist — building hydrogen infrastructure requires capital Nikola doesn't have

Frequently asked questions

Both are extremely high-risk speculative investments. Workhorse faces existential financial pressure with minimal revenue. Nikola has entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which typically destroys equity value. Neither is appropriate for most investors. These stocks are primarily speculative trading vehicles, not investment-grade holdings. Most financial advisors would recommend against either for meaningful portfolio positions.

AI Prediction SignalNext 5 trading days

Members only

WKHS

+2.8%BUY

NKLA

+1.1%HOLD

Start Free Trial Log in

ML model trained on historical prices · 14-day free trial · No credit card required

Free public comparison

Want deeper AI forecasts?

This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.

Start Free Trial Read Investing Guides

Related comparisons

TSLA vs NIO

US vs China EV Leader