Updated December 7, 2025
Nikola Corporation — once hyped as a “next Tesla” hydrogen truck pioneer under the Nasdaq ticker NKLA — is now deep in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, delisted from Nasdaq, and trading over‑the‑counter as NKLAQ at fractions of a cent. The legal and financial endgame is essentially written: a confirmed Plan of Liquidation that cancels all common stock with no recovery for shareholders. [1]
For traders still seeing “Nasdaq: NKLA stock” headlines in screeners or watchlists, it’s critical to understand that the Nasdaq listing is gone, the business has effectively shut down, and the remaining stock is a short‑lived bankruptcy stub.
Key facts about Nasdaq: NKLA / NKLAQ as of December 7, 2025
- Delisted from Nasdaq: Nikola filed for Chapter 11 on February 19, 2025, and its shares were later delisted from Nasdaq effective April 14, 2025. Trading moved to the OTC market under ticker NKLAQ. [2]
- Microscopic market value: NKLAQ last traded around $0.0026 per share on December 5, 2025, implying a market cap of roughly $310,000, down about 99.8% over the last 12 months. [3]
- Confirmed liquidation plan: A U.S. bankruptcy court approved Nikola’s Second Amended Plan of Liquidation on September 12, 2025, which provides that all common stock and equity interests will be cancelled with no distribution to shareholders once the plan becomes effective. [4]
- Targeted equity cancellation in December 2025: Company filings and independent analyses state that the Effective Date is projected for December 2025, at which point NKLAQ shares are expected to be formally cancelled. [5]
- Broken business economics: Nikola’s 2024 financials show roughly $916.5 million in operating losses and approximately $521.5 million in cash burned from operations, plus large asset impairments — numbers analysts describe as “catastrophic unit economics” that left equity effectively worthless even before the bankruptcy filing. [6]
In other words: the story is no longer about a turnaround. It’s about a legal wind‑down where equity is explicitly out of the money.
What happened to Nasdaq: NKLA in 2025?
From hype stock to Chapter 11
Nikola’s long slide accelerated at the start of 2025. On February 6–7, 2025, Reuters reported that the company was nearing a bankruptcy filing, citing dwindling cash and failed attempts to raise capital; the stock immediately plunged and had already lost over 99% of its value since going public via SPAC in 2020. [7]
On February 19, 2025, Nikola itself announced that it and certain subsidiaries had filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in Delaware and would pursue a Section 363 auction and sale of its assets. The company disclosed it had only about $47 million of cash on hand, enough for limited operations through a rapid sale and wind‑down process. [8]
Key points from that filing and subsequent communications:
- Nikola sought to sell all or substantially all of its assets and then wind down the business. [9]
- Operations were scaled back to minimal service and support for trucks in the field and HYLA hydrogen fueling through March 2025. [10]
- Management acknowledged that funding constraints and industry headwinds meant Chapter 11 was the “best possible path forward” for stakeholders. [11]
Recalls and safety issues made the hill steeper
Even before bankruptcy, Nikola’s truck programs were under pressure from recalls and reliability complaints:
- In 2023, fires involving battery‑electric trucks led to a recall of all BEV units, severely damaging customer confidence and adding new costs. [12]
- In early 2025, heavy‑duty industry publications reported a recall of roughly 95 model‑year 2024–2025 Tre fuel‑cell‑electric trucks because mounting bolts could damage the hydrogen tanks, potentially causing leaks. [13]
- Green‑car and EV media described Nikola’s post‑bankruptcy period as a “just gets worse” phase, where unresolved reliability problems collided with the company’s shrinking service capabilities. [14]
These issues escalated costs, increased legal exposure and further undermined the business case for Nikola’s core hydrogen truck platform.
Delisting from Nasdaq and life as NKLAQ on the OTC market
Once the Chapter 11 filing hit, Nasdaq non‑compliance quickly followed. According to Nikola’s 10‑K and StockTitan’s summary of that filing:
- Trading of NKLA on Nasdaq was suspended in late February 2025.
- The stock was formally delisted on April 14, 2025. [15]
- Shares then migrated to the OTC Expert Market under the new ticker NKLAQ.
On the OTC market, NKLAQ has become a textbook bankruptcy stub:
- MarketBeat’s performance dashboard shows the stock down about 99.84% over the last 12 months and down 99.78% year‑to‑date, with a five‑year decline of essentially 100% from a split‑adjusted price above $550. [16]
- StockAnalysis reports a market cap of about $310,000 as of December 5, 2025, down 99.74% year‑over‑year, even though the enterprise value — reflecting remaining debts and obligations — remains over $100 million. [17]
The share price around $0.0026 is less a valuation of a going concern and more a reflection of speculative trading in a security that the court‑approved plan says will be cancelled. [18]
From Chapter 11 to confirmed liquidation: what the plan says
The key legal pivot in 2025 wasn’t just the bankruptcy filing; it was the confirmation of Nikola’s Plan of Liquidation.
- On June 23, 2025, Nikola and its affiliates filed a combined disclosure statement and Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation with the Delaware bankruptcy court. [19]
- After amendments and creditor voting, the court issued a bench ruling confirming the plan on September 5, 2025, with a written confirmation order entered on September 12, 2025. [20]
According to the 10‑K and related summaries of the confirmed plan: [21]
- Substantially all operating assets have been sold, including manufacturing facilities and other key infrastructure.
- Nikola has ceased manufacturing and sales of trucks and is in the process of winding down and dissolving.
- A liquidation trust will distribute proceeds to creditors, not to common shareholders.
- On the Effective Date of the plan, all common stock and equity securities will be cancelled and extinguished, and equity holders will receive no distribution.
Independent restructuring analyses and financial‑news sites now describe Nikola equity as formally “out of the money,” with the only remaining open question being the exact timing of the plan’s Effective Date — currently projected for December 2025. [22]
Latest 2025 headlines: asset sales, settlements and founder drama
Several strands of news across 2025 help explain how Nikola reached this endgame and what remains to be resolved.
Asset sales: Lucid and others pick up the pieces
On April 11, 2025, Reuters reported that Lucid Group agreed to acquire select Arizona‑based facilities and assets from Nikola, including plants and associated jobs — but not Nikola’s business, customer base or hydrogen truck technology. [23]
Other reports and court filings indicate that:
- Additional assets, including intellectual property and residual infrastructure, have been sold or are being marketed to strategic and financial buyers as part of the liquidation strategy. [24]
- Trucks previously delivered into fleets have appeared in auctions and secondary sales, reinforcing the shift from operating company to asset liquidation. [25]
Regulatory and legal settlements
Nikola’s collapse is intertwined with years of regulatory scrutiny and litigation over earlier statements and projections:
- In September 2025, coverage from freight‑industry outlets said Nikola reached an SEC settlement of about $82–83 million, integrated into the broader Chapter 11 plan and funded through the bankruptcy process. [26]
- A derivative action settlement relating to past governance and disclosure issues proceeded in parallel, with notice to shareholders reported through financial news wires. [27]
At the same time, founder Trevor Milton, previously convicted of securities fraud, re‑entered the headlines:
- Major outlets reported that Milton was pardoned in March 2025, and TechCrunch later detailed how he sought to buy Nikola’s assets and was accused of trying to interfere with the bankruptcy process. [28]
None of these legal twists, however, change the central economic reality for common stock: the confirmed plan cancels equity.
NKLA / NKLAQ stock forecasts: outdated targets vs harsh reality
Legacy Wall Street targets that no longer apply
If you search for “NKLA price target” today, you’ll still find screens and websites showing:
- Average 12‑month targets around $4 per share
- A consensus rating skewed toward “Hold” based on a small number of legacy analysts
- Models projecting revenue growth from ongoing truck production and hydrogen infrastructure build‑out [29]
A December 2025 explainer from TS2 Tech highlighted that these numbers were built on a going‑concern assumption — the idea that Nikola would keep operating, selling trucks and growing its HYLA hydrogen network. In reality, Nikola has filed for bankruptcy, sold most of its assets, ceased operations and entered a court‑approved liquidation that cancels equity. TechStock²
Put simply: old price targets are now historical curiosities, not meaningful forecasts.
Newer analyses: “equity likely wiped out”
From early 2025 onward, more bearish research notes started to match the unfolding reality:
- In February 2025, multiple outlets aggregated a Seeking Alpha report titled “Bankruptcy Likely to Wipe Out Equity Holders – Strong Sell,” arguing that Nikola’s capital structure and cash burn left no path to equity recovery. [30]
- MarketBeat’s NKLAQ coverage frames the equity as effectively going to zero, pointing to the confirmed plan and near‑total price collapse. [31]
- December 2025 analysis pieces, including the TS2 Tech deep‑dive and AI‑driven research from Panabee, emphasize that the only “forecast” that matters now is the one in the bankruptcy documents: complete equity cancellation and zero recovery for shareholders. TechStock²+2Panabee+2
Some algorithmic forecast sites still produce long‑dated scenarios (e.g., price projections to 2040 or 2050), but these are effectively disconnected from Nikola’s actual legal status as a company in liquidation. [32]
How markets are treating NKLAQ in December 2025
Despite the legal clarity, NKLAQ continues to trade in tiny volumes. Data from MarketBeat and StockAnalysis show: [33]
- Multiday moves of hundreds of percent on very low dollar volumes
- A market cap in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars
- Daily highs and lows that swing between fractions of a cent and a few tenths of a cent
December 2025 commentary increasingly describes NKLAQ as:
- A “thinly traded stub” on the OTC Expert Market rather than a real equity claim on a functioning business
- A vehicle where price action is driven by speculation, not fundamentals, because the fundamentals point to eventual cancellation at zero TechStock²+1
Nikola’s own filings warn that:
- Any continued trading in its stock is highly speculative,
- Recent market prices may not reflect the pending cancellation of the shares, and
- Equity holders should not expect any distribution under the Plan of Liquidation. [34]
What to watch next for Nikola stock
For anyone tracking “Nasdaq: NKLA stock” — now NKLAQ — the remaining milestones are mostly procedural:
- Effective Date of the Plan of Liquidation
- Court documents and company disclosures suggest the plan is expected to become effective in December 2025, once specified conditions are satisfied or waived. [35]
- On that date, all common stock and equity securities are cancelled, and the liquidation trust begins formal distributions to creditors.
- Final liquidation reporting
- Over the following months, investors can expect trustee or plan administrator reports detailing asset sale proceeds, allowed claims and creditor recovery estimates — items relevant for creditors, not equity holders. [36]
- Tax and portfolio implications for holders
- Many investors will treat NKLAQ as a realized loss once cancellation occurs; how that plays out depends on jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Articles from restructuring‑focused sites strongly urge investors to consult tax or financial professionals rather than relying on rumor‑driven social media threads. [37]
Is NKLA / NKLAQ still an “investment”?
Given the confirmed liquidation plan and Nikola’s own disclosures, the economic thesis for NKLAQ is no longer about business recovery:
- Fundamentally: Nikola has sold its core assets, stopped operating and is winding down under court supervision. [38]
- Legally: The confirmed plan explicitly cancels the stock and allocates any remaining value to creditors, not to shareholders. [39]
- Mathematically: A market cap around $300,000 against an estate with tens or hundreds of millions of obligations underscores how far out of the money equity is. [40]
For most market participants, that combination means NKLAQ functions less as a traditional equity investment and more as a short‑lived trading token in a bankruptcy case where the outcome for stockholders is already spelled out as zero.
References
1. nikolamotor.com, 2. nikolamotor.com, 3. www.marketbeat.com, 4. www.stocktitan.net, 5. www.panabee.com, 6. www.panabee.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. nikolamotor.com, 9. nikolamotor.com, 10. nikolamotor.com, 11. nikolamotor.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.truckinginfo.com, 14. www.greencarreports.com, 15. www.stocktitan.net, 16. www.marketbeat.com, 17. stockanalysis.com, 18. www.marketbeat.com, 19. www.sec.gov, 20. document.epiq11.com, 21. www.stocktitan.net, 22. www.stocktitan.net, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.stocktitan.net, 25. www.caranddriver.com, 26. www.cleantrucking.com, 27. www.marketbeat.com, 28. www.marketbeat.com, 29. tickernerd.com, 30. www.marketbeat.com, 31. www.marketbeat.com, 32. exlaresources.com, 33. www.marketbeat.com, 34. www.stocktitan.net, 35. www.stocktitan.net, 36. www.stocktitan.net, 37. www.panabee.com, 38. www.stocktitan.net, 39. www.marketscreener.com, 40. stockanalysis.com
