Bad Bets

Trevor Milton assembled a high-powered legal team to defend himself against federal fraud charges. At the same time, whistleblowers and Nikola executives were ready to testify against him. In our season finale, we go inside Milton’s trial and speak to some of the jurors who held his fate in their hands. Plus, we hear the revelations in a secret recording where Milton talks about his future.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As investors and General Motors bet on Trevor Milton’s vision, the short sellers at Hindenburg Research revealed that the company he founded, Nikola, wasn’t all that it seemed. The allegation that Nikola rolled its truck down a hill for a promotional video made Hindenburg’s report a sensation. In this episode, we’ll hear how Trevor Milton, investors and the U.S. government responded to the report—and how its authors ended up in a game of Spy vs. Spy with shadowy private investigators.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After it began trading in 2020, Nikola was a hot stock—and Trevor Milton was a newly minted billionaire. But in the background, people from Trevor’s past were finding each other and sharing their experiences. In this episode, we talk to the unlikely group of whistleblowers and short sellers who teamed up to find the cracks in Nikola’s facade and expose them to the world.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A jury has convicted Nikola founder Trevor Milton in his federal fraud trial. To better understand what led up to this moment, we hear from some of the engineers Nikola hired to help make Trevor’s idea of a zero-emissions semi truck a reality. In this episode, they tell us how Trevor’s statements about the Nikola One increasingly outpaced what they had actually managed to build.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trevor Milton had a knack for pitching people to invest in his ideas. He raised millions for his early business ventures by making big promises, often to inexperienced investors including friends and members of his church community. In this episode, we talk to some of these investors, who say they suffered life-changing financial losses as Trevor’s star continued to rise.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trevor Milton sold a promise—a zero-emissions semi truck that could revolutionize the trucking industry. He also sold himself as the visionary founder capable of delivering on that promise. In this episode, we take you back to Trevor’s early years as an entrepreneur, and you’ll hear from some of the people who helped him build the businesses that came before Nikola. Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bad Bets, a podcast series from The Wall Street Journal that unravels big-business dramas that have had a big impact on our world, is back for Season 2. This season, we delve into the story of Nikola founder Trevor Milton. He took his company Nikola to dizzying heights on the promise of a zero-emissions semi truck. At its peak, Nikola’s publicly traded stock was worth more than Ford—until a ragtag group of whistleblowers and short sellers revealed that Nikola and its truck wasn’t all that it seemed. This season on Bad Bets, Journal reporter Ben Foldy will tell the inside story of Trevor Milton’s rise and fall. You’ll hear exclusive interviews and recordings, and details from secret documents. And we’ll take you deep into Trevor Milton’s federal fraud trial, where he’s fighting the charges against him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enron was a giant, and its collapse was historic. The company's downfall disrupted energy markets, pushing other power companies into bankruptcy. It prompted hearings by nearly a dozen congressional committees, and it inspired major legislation-the Sarbanes-Oxley Act-to improve the conduct of corporations and their watchdogs. But were the changes enough to prevent a similar scandal? Could there be another Enron debacle looming? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After years spent building its "lies and choices" case, the Department of Justice's Enron Task Force took Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling to court. In this episode, the unprecedented trial that became something of a litmus test for all of corporate America. How much did Lay and Skilling know about the crimes that occurred at Enron, and when did they know it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enron CEO Ken Lay was practically the company's founding father. But when federal authorities began investigating Enron after its collapse, prosecutors had a hard time connecting Lay to anything illegal - and Lay himself insisted that he was innocent. Until: prosecutor John Hueston joined the team, two years into the investigation. In this episode, how the Enron Task Force built its case against Lay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices