It wasn’t just for their novelty that Trevor Milton’s announcements of the Nikola One hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric-drive truck turned more than a few owner-operators’ heads last year. It was the promise of an operating cost benefit that took diesel-price volatility out of the equation.
Owner-operator Matthew Hurley had been dreaming of an electric semi-truck for more than 10 years. Then last year, after reading about Nikola and its serial-entrepreneur founder, he came to the company’s Salt Lake City headquarters for its December announcement.
“This is far better than anything I imagined,” Hurley said after the reveal. “This is way over the top.”
Paul Terry, owner and operator of Utah-based Paul Terry Trucking, placed 100 orders for the One, despite only operating a 30-truck fleet. Terry says he intends to buy, not lease, the trucks, perhaps to resell at a marked-up price should the technology prove to be as good as it’s touted. Like Hurley, Terry also doesn’t want “to be held hostage” by high diesel prices.
“The industry was under extreme volatility based on diesel fuel prices from 2008, really all the way through 2011,” he says. “That could happen again in the blink of an eye.”
Terry says an early investment in hydrogen-electric vehicles could give him a long-term advantage over his competitors. His fleet operates in 11 Western states, hauling food products.
Recent hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles from automakers such as Honda and Toyota are available in California, mostly under lease, and come with a substantial credit to cover years’ worth of fuel. Nikola also is planning to offer its over-the-road Class 8 for purchase or lease with fuel and scheduled maintenance included for up to a million miles.
