By Michael Elkins
Shares of Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) are down more than 8% in mid-day trading on Thursday after the American commercial electric vehicle maker reported positive 3Q top line results. NKLA reported 3Q EPS of ($0.28), $0.08 ahead of the consensus estimate of ($0.36). The company also raised $100.5 million in gross proceeds through its at-the-market (ATM) program. Revenue for the quarter came in at $24.2 million versus the consensus estimate of $22.7 million.
After delivering just 11 Tre BEVs in the 1Q of this year, Nikola reported a 336% increase by the 2Q. With its 3Q 2022 report, Nikola has continued this upward trend producing 75 Tre trucks and delivering 63 of them – a 50% increase compared to a quarter ago.
The company also reported that it has begun pilot testing its BEV trucks with both SAIA (NASDAQ:SAIA) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT), logging over 1,600 and 2,700 miles with each company respectively. Nikola also shared that it is currently producing three trucks per shift at its manufacturing facility in Coolidge, AZ, but already has the capability to up that output to five trucks per shift.
Separately, Nikola said in a regulatory filing that President Michael Lohscheller has replaced Mark Russell as chief executive officer. The move comes about two months earlier than planned.
"During the third quarter we continued to produce and deliver Nikola Tre BEVs to dealers and customers," Lohscheller said in the statement.