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Manufacturer of heavy duty electric trucks

Nikola

On its way to marketing its battery electric truck, the Tre. A battery-related pull sent its shares lower in early trade on Monday.

Friday evening, Nikola (Stock ticker: NKLA) announce Voluntary recall of more than 200 of its heavy-duty battery-electric trucks due to potential battery fires. The decision came after a third-party investigation by the company found that the battery fire on June 23 at Nikola’s headquarters was most likely caused by a coolant leak.

During the first half of 2023, about 240 battery-powered trucks were sold and were in customer fleets. Nikola did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the percentage of trucks that have been recalled.

“At Nikola, we take safety very seriously,” CEO Steve Gerski said in a press release. “We have stated from the outset that once we have concluded our investigations, we will provide an update, and we will continue to be transparent as we learn more.”

Nikola also suggested that fleet operators could keep the trucks in service, pending repairs. However, it must be parked outside, with the main battery disconnect switch in the “on” position to enable “real-time vehicle monitoring and safety systems operation”.

Nikola stock fell 13% in pre-market trading Monday, while

Standard & Poor’s 500
And

NASDAQ Composite
Futures rose 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.

The decline has led to some recent big gains for Nikola stock. As trading began Monday, shares are up about 154% over the past three months, boosted by orders for the hydrogen fuel-cell Nikola trucks.

The recall does not affect fuel cell trucks. Nikola plans to start shipping those in the third quarter of 2023.

Wall Street will eventually influence the drawdown. The company covers eight analysts. One, or about 13%, rates the stock as a buy. The average buy rating for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target is $2.70 per share, while Nikola closed Friday at $1.95.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com