| Jurors See
Trevor Milton Tweet At Elon Musk A Nikola
Pickup Truck Sketch Hydrogen Ice Water
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
book
BBC - CIA
Trial book - NY
Mag Pearl
St Video
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 15 – In the US v. Trevor
Milton of Nikola trial,
after "Nikola Insider" Paul
Lackey quoted Milton that "I
don't give a sh*t about the
environment," ex Nikola
designer Brendan Babiarz
described Milton tweeting mere
sketches of a pick-up truck at
Elon Musk, implying it had
been built. This came after
still-Nikola witness Elizabeth
Fretheim. Inner City Press was
there. Thread:
Bradley Bondi: Ms. Fretheim, didn't you
say "We are designing from a clean sheet
allowing us to leap frog forward in
technology"?
Fretheim: Yes. Bondi: You said that publicly,
right? Fretheim: Maybe to a select group.
Bondi: It was on the Internet, right?
Bondi: We move into evidence the entire
Tesla Charts podcast, and transcript. Judge
Ramos: Any objection? AUSA: No.
US says next witness (after 1st witness
Fretheim) is the one cited last night (Babiarz
wrote of the Badger that they can’t “film the
building of the trucks” because “they are half
Fords”) - legal fight about admissibility of
emails coming
Now re-direct of Nikola's Fretheim. AUSA: Mr.
Milton said Nikola's hydrogen was -- Milton's
lawyer: Objection, your Honor! May we
approach? Judge Ramos: OK. [Whispered sidebar.
Then:]
AUSA: At that time, where was Nikola getting
its hydrogen? Fretheim: From standard
producers. AUSA: You reached out to Mark
Russell on a Sunday about the Tesla Charts
podcast? Fretheim: Yes.
AUSA: Did you believe Mr. Milton had
made mis-statements? Fretheim: Yes. AUSA: No
further questions. Re-cross: Bondi: You
trusted CEO Mark Russell to act if necessary,
right? Fretheim: Yes.
Next witness: Brendan Babiarz. AUSA Roos: Did
you work at Nikola? Babiarz: Yes, from 2017.
As a designer.
AUSA Roos: Here's an email you sent to Mr.
Milton. When did you hear next about the
pick-up truck? Babiarz: Trevor tweeted out the
sketches I'd sent him.
Babiarz: Trevor tweeted it at Elon Musk
. I was surprised. We had not done any real
work on the pick-up truck. AUSA: It was just
sketches? Babiarz: Yes.
AUSA Roos: Now in the press release about the
pick-up truck, for those of us who ride the
subway to work, where did these numbers come
from?
Babiarz: I have no idea. AUSA: Read this
tweet. Babiarz: He tweeted at #Tesla Charts
that "the specs are dead on."
AUSA: Here Milton says he has been working on
this pick-up for years. Was tech from the
semi-truck put into the pick-up?
Milton's lawyer Torrey Young: Objection!
Foundation!
Judge Ramos: Overruled.
AUSA: Had he been working on it?
Babiarz: Only through my sketches
AUSA: Please show the witness this exhibit. Do
you recognize this email? Babiarz: Yes. It's
an email to Trevor Milton, I'm copied. March
30, 2020.
[Now break is called. Milton stands chatting
with his lawyer Marc Mukasey.]
They're back. AUSA Roos: Did there come a time
when Trevor Milton made an announcement about
the unveiling of the Badger pick-up truck?
Babiartz: Yes. He tweeted it, calling
NikolaWorld now BadgerWorld.
AUSA: Here, you text that you hoped Nikola
going public would make Trevor more methodical
but I guess not, right?
Babiartz: Yes. And my colleague answered that
Trevor "needs his next fix."
AUSA: Now the next text message -- Young:
Objection! 401, 403, foundation.
Judge Ramos: Overruled. AUSA: So you said, Not
sure how Trevor plans to get tens of thousands
of reservations [for the Badger], it's not
bursting and won't until there's a working
prototype
AUSA: Is this the crying / laughing emoji?
Babiarz: Yes. We did not have a working
prototype. I wrote, We are building it over
Fords, so they are going to shoot all this
Discovery stuff over in Europe - that was
through the Diesel Brothers
AUSA: They are television personalities?
Babiarz: In simple terms, yes. AUSA:
Government offers exhibit 50. Young (sounding
tired or bored) Objection. Judge Ramos:
Overruled. Babiarz: I wrote, Trevor is taking
Discovery to film Badgar building in Italy.
AUSA: You wrote, "it will totally f*ck
us." What did you mean? Babiarz: That the
public would see what the Badger was built on.
Ultimately, they did not do the Discovery
Channel filming in Italy.
AUSA: What could tweeting out the raw frame
show? Young: Objection. Judge Ramos:
Overruled. Babiarz: That it was built on Ford.
AUSA: Did you ever give Mr Milton talking
points? Babiarz: No.
Babiarz: Trevor Milton said our drivers
would get cold, clean drinking water from the
hydrogen. He then tweeted at SodaStream,
offering to partner. AUSA: Before these
tweets, had you ever heard of the Badger you
were working on having a water fountain?
Babiarz: No
US plays an interview with Milton talking
about ice cold drinking water from hydrogen,
saying, It reminds me of Adam Sandler's The
Water Boy, we have to get Adam Sandler on
board. Then Maria Bartiroma: So do you welcome
competition? Milton: You can have ice water
Inner City Press coverage will continue.
The
case is US v.
Milton,
21-cr-478
(Ramos)
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