Nikola Motor’s decision to abandon its hydrogen pickup truck, the Hydrogen Badger, has left some wondering if the move was premature. The company had initially planned to compete with Tesla by offering an H2-powered pickup truck, but following the fallout of a partnership with General Motors in 2020, Nikola changed direction. However, with the continued advancements in H2 energy, some industry insiders are questioning if the company should have held onto their plans for the pickup and waited for the market demand to rise.
With the potential in its hydrogen fuel cell-powered engine, many are asking if dropping it was premature.
Among the many parts of the H2 energy industry that have become a priority for Nikola Motor, it chose to abandon its hydrogen fuel cell-powered pickup, the Hydrogen Badger. While some people applauded the decision at the time, others wonder whether the decision was made too early.
The company originally had big plans for moving ahead with its H2-powered ICE pickup truck.
The Hydrogen Badger was meant to be an H2-powered vehicle that would compete with Tesla, the company’s top competitor. The idea was to be able to cut into some of the market that was already being captured by electric vehicles. However, in 2020, Nikola decided not to move ahead with the project. This decision was made following the disintegration of the partnership between Nikola and General Motors in November of that year.
That said, with the way H2 has been moving forward, many are questioning the decision and whether it would have been better for the company to have held onto its plans for the pickup. Some are now asking if the company would have been better off pushing forward with the vehicle so have it ready once the market was ready for it.
The official announcement of the end of the Hydrogen Badger arrived in the first quarter of 2021.
Nikola has a reputation for being ahead of its time when it comes to bringing hydrogen vehicles to the mainstream. It appears to have found its stride most recently with its intentions to move forward with H2-powered transport trucks and networks of fueling stations. The cancellation of the Hydrogen Badger pickup truck took it out of the running for competition against the Rivian R1T and the Tesla Cybertruck.
The pickup truck had been receiving quite a bit of positive attention. It was seen as exciting and innovative while also offering a promising solution for cutting greenhouse gas emissions resulting from its category of vehicle. It had a solid 600-mile range, with 906 horsepower and an 8,000-pound towing capacity. It could accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in only 2.9 seconds.
It was easy to see why people who wanted a zero-emission vehicle but didn’t want to sacrifice power would see this as a promising option.
Never ending setbacks
The Hydrogen Badger faced a range of challenges throughout 2020. The vehicle was first announced in February and from that point. In September, Nikola Motor entered into a strategic partnership with General Motors. This was meant to have GM invest $2 billion into Nikola for an 11 percent stake in the company. This would also have provided GM with the right for one Nikola board director nomination.
On GM’s side, it would engineer, validate, finalize and manufacture the Hydrogen Badger pickup truck. However, by November, the deal had fallen through, and the pickup truck’s future became uncertain. As allegations of fraud hit the headlines (all of which Nikola denied, calling them “false claims”) and as its battle with short-seller Hindenburg Research remained highly public, the pickup truck’s demise became evident.
Did Nikola give up too soon on the Hydrogen Badger?
Now, as Nikola has started unveiling its refueling network strategies and has been establishing important new partnerships, many people have started looking back at the opportunity the Hydrogen Badger presented and are wondering if the company should have tried harder to hang on to the pickup truck project.
Had the company been able to produce it as planned, the pickup truck had the potential to be a game changer in its market. That said, it was at that time when Nikola took a sharp turn in its strategy. While it might have had a good opportunity to compete with Tesla in the pickup truck market if it had continued with its own vehicle, it appears that the company isn’t interested in pursuing that angle of H2 in the transportation industry.
