Note: Nikola World is a two-day event in Scottsdale, Ariz. See more coverage on CCJ later this week.
Among the first to champion trucking’s transition to an electric drivetrain, Nikola Motor Company on Tuesday gave the world its biggest update on the hydrogen-electric tractor that had been tucked away since its original unveiling in December 2016.
Nikola’s zero-emission tractor shared the spotlight at Nikola World – a two-day event equal parts product reveal and rock spectacle held by the company Tuesday night and Wednesday at WestWorld in Scottsdale, Ariz. – with releases from the company’s powersports and energy divisions.
The desert location for this week’s event was a housewarming of sorts for Nikola Motor Company. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says Maricopa County, where Nikola expects to create upwards of 2,000 jobs by relocating its headquarters from Salt Lake City and establishing a manufacturing facility, has been the fastest growing county in the U.S. for the past two years.
Company CEO Trevor Milton kicked off the event by riding in on a Budweiser wagon pulled by the company’s famed clydesdales with Anheuser-Busch Vice President of Procurement and Sustainability Ingrid De Ryck riding shotgun. Anheuser-Busch, the largest beer manufacturer in the U.S., placed an order for up to 800 hydrogen-electric tractors last year.
The first product Milton unveiled was an autonomous-capable military all-terrain vehicle, the Nikola Reckless.
Nikola Powersports Vice President of Business Development and Defense says he believes all military vehicles will feature battery electric and hydrogen fuel cells in the future – a transition goaded by the system’s ability to operate silently with no negative impact to the environment.
