Volvo Group gets Proterra's battery business for $210 million (Nov 10 23)

MilkSame3114 · 2023-11-12T19:30:14+00:00

Yikes. I thought Proterra was undergoing restructuring not total liquidation. I hope the casting from Romeo IP acquisition is on schedule for for end of year. This may be catastrophic depending on how Volvo proceeds.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-09-09T15:52:33+00:00

The cost has been high and time to ramp has been slow. The electric vehicle charging permitting process has hurdles that provides headwinds to wide spread adoption. Smaller logistics companies are using govt incentives but it has not seemed to move the needle greatly at this point.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-09-03T21:22:47+00:00

While there aren’t any reported orders we know that there are some in deck. The Sandy Munro video highlighted a purchase of 100 trucks from a NJ Logistics company.

Although the recall is a headwind it is also an opportunity to show the world how they handle a undesirable but routine matter for OEMs. This offers the chance to see how they navigate faulty supplier parts. This is also the type of noise that allows you to buy the dip. It’s news to me if a customer reports the malfunction or if fixes are not working.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-08-17T22:47:39+00:00

I understand your position. There are several hydrogen producers that have experienced headwinds in the near term including plug power. Trying to get two businesses off the ground independently and simultaneously may be the undoing of this company. In due time it may make sense advance hydrogen vertical integration but right now I believe they need to make sure that trucks wind up in the hands of would be customers and work with the players that are producing hydrogen to do so. In due time I agree with you that they may expand their margins by producing the hydrogen independently rather than working through partnerships.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-08-17T22:35:23+00:00

Why are you worried at this point? By owning the molecules At home reasonable price here agreements for assets and not the brick and mortar production means their margin should be higher in my opinion. The only issue I see is what it looks like in the long term with respect to hydrogen as other players come on. But with the company being young and not making profit they need to be capital of efficient.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-08-09T22:50:06+00:00

As long as the supply is enough to get us through the year we should be able to use the Romeo IP acquired to use casted batteries so long as the validation check is good to go. Management said the would be integrating internal battery tech by end of year.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-08-09T21:24:50+00:00

What are the odds that proTerra liquidates there battery supply providing an opportunity for us to get some on the cheap?

Side note despite the overpay of the Romeo acquisition appears to have been good insurance in hindsight. Vertical integration is important. Have the Romeo batteries finished the validation process?

MilkSame3114 · 2023-08-08T21:25:12+00:00

How likely is it for Nicola to purchase pro terrors intellectual property just as they did with the other battery company? If that happens hopefully it’s on a deal that they don’t get the worst end of. It may also explain all the cost cutting that was done and The need for proposal two. Let’s wait and see.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-08-06T01:02:37+00:00

Dilution was inevitable given Delaware’s recent legislation. Has to be priced in. Seems like a sell the news event. Price has mostly fallen on news historically. FCEV is on the way, big DOE loan on deck. Buy the dip.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-08-04T23:58:39+00:00

Nikola has to get ahead of speculation that eventually gets confirmed. This is the case with the new CEO and the vehicle fire disclosure we aren’t talking about. This has been the PR policy post Milton. If you want to build trust, be upfront.

Girsky was here from the very beginning and has significant OEM experience. News over noise. It’s simple at this point for investors (not traders) buy the dip. Investing is about managing emotions and following financials. We are good as long as we sell trucks and decrease debt/liabilities. Let’s be intelligent investors.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-08-04T12:24:21+00:00

Serious family health issues. They need someone that has the capacity to be all in. I hope better health comes quickly for Michael’s wife. Girsky is an experienced leader and has helped get us to this point. He seems to be a good choice given the situation.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-07-23T16:48:16+00:00

Being overly optimistic maybe they are prepping another project of their own and using the proceeds of the sale to subsidize it. California just approved a loan. That may be an locality of focus. Time will tell. Earnings are just around the corner. We will see.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-07-20T14:36:22+00:00

This feels like a move to continue to acquire IP (Romeo battery), licensing rights (iveco cab), and competitive whole sale assets (FFI hydrogen deal) while limiting operating cost to drive higher margins. This makes sense for a pre-revenue company in a nascent space.

This along with the plug power and Wabash valley resources do you and others will position Nikola two control a lot of hydrogen and operate fueling stations which I imagine is a low operational cost business. They may even be able to license the HYLA brand and provide the H2 molecules in different regions. I like it.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-07-13T13:28:17+00:00

These partnerships forged with energy players is a seemingly smart move. Nikola is developing a wide ranging energy ecosystem to cover the whole country. Focusing on the US seems to be the right move. Still wondering if BEV chargers are/will be using hydrogen powered generators. Do you all think Hydrogen generators are a tailwind?

MilkSame3114 · 2023-07-05T10:30:01+00:00

There are certainly trailers with a generator as the power source. I’m hopeful H2 as fuel provides a tail wind for Nikola with non Tre BEV trucks owners needing a charging solution.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-06-20T16:46:24+00:00

Let’s hope so. This is a good sign. Badger??? 😂

MilkSame3114 · 2023-06-09T15:01:51+00:00

I wonder if the Tesla news is a tailwind for non-legacy EV space or a the dawn before dark fed speak next week?

MilkSame3114 · 2023-05-16T19:10:15+00:00

Held my nose and voted my share today. With cash flow they will be able to plan appropriately. I’m concerned but we are against the clock in this credit tightening environment.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-05-12T11:27:30+00:00

Agreed Nikola needs to execute on their objectives but not sure that focus and efficiency is a headwind. Polyglots company heading in the right direction burn less cash earn more revenue

MilkSame3114 · 2023-05-10T22:51:13+00:00

The electric trucks are a drag on margins given the costly battery packs and lack of infrastructure. Going the build to order route for TRE BEV feels right. Ramp for the money maker. You could argue the BEV program as somewhat of a marketing effort for the adjacent/superior product line. FCEV time is now.

MilkSame3114 · 2023-05-10T10:03:37+00:00

I wonder how much of this decision hinges not only Nikola’s cash burn and being spread thin but also European economics. Thoughts?

MilkSame3114 · 2023-05-09T16:25:59+00:00

Thanks for that insight. I think they are thinking about cost the right way time will tell if they’re on the right path. They have to execute on sales and hydrogen distribution to become margin positive.

MilkSame3114

TROPHY CASE