Tesla’s Biggest Rival Planned A Cool Pickup, Until It Became Dead

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The car was going to be a battery-electric, fuel-cell truck that can drive up to 600 miles.

906 hp electric pickup monster

Nikola, an American EV company that challenges another company named in honor of Nikola Tesla, had a cool electric pickup concept called the Badger. The company was founded by Trevor Milton in 2014, and started production for its hydrogen-fueled semi-truck in 2016. Named the “Nikola One”, the truck boasts 1000 hp of output and received pre-orders worth $3 billion.

The Nikola Badger
The Nikola Badger

Nikola has revealed numerous concepts including the TWO and TRE electric/fuel-cell semi-trucks, NZT and Reckless electric ATVs, WAV electric jet ski, and Badger. Among those, the Badger is a pickup truck that was revealed in February 2020. The car was planned to be released in fuel-cell and battery-electric form, but was canceled due to its partner, General Motors, dropped out of the deal.

Its exterior featured a thin headlight with a large front grille that does not look electric. Powered by a 906 hp/980 lb-ft electric motor, the car did its 0-60 in under 2.9 seconds. The fuel-cell model came with an 8 kg hydrogen tank and 160 kWh battery for a maximum range of 600 miles, while the battery-electric model only had the same battery for a maximum range of 300 miles.

The Badger is 5900 mm long, 2160 mm wide, and 1850 mm tall, which is around the same size as the Toyota Tundra. Unfortunately, the project is now canceled but if the car came true, it sure had a major impact on the electric vehicle industry.

Writer MotorVehicleNewsEditorialDepartment
Translator Hiroto KATO
Born and raised entirely in Japan, Hiroto has been a gearhead since he was a baby. He always had his toy cars around him, which he currently owns about 5,000 collections. Since 2016, he starts to attend the SEMA Show, delivering the latest American custom scene to Japanese readers. He is also familiar with "Itasha", "JDM", "Kyusha（Japanese classic cars）" and "Japanese animation".

GALLERY

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Monstrous Electric Pickup Truck！

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