On top of the fraud convictions, Trevor Milton was credibly accused of sexual assault by his own cousin and a girl he employed. Both victims were minors at the time.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/two-women-file-sexual-abuse-...

I struggle to understand the psychology of how founders who are clearly incompetent charlatans get second+ chances -- they couldn't do fraud successfully but investors have a faith they could do business successfully. But they still get funding (like adam neumann of wework fame) and full on "narrative tongue baths" by the business media community (like this wsj article on trevor milton).

Why? I struggle to understand the incentives + motivations here.

The President has plenary authority to grant pardons and I imagine a time, in the near future, when questioning any authority of this administration would he deemed an act of treason.

Therefore, I wish only the best of luck to never-committed-a-crime Trevor Milton and to the infallibility of our dear leader in his wise and judicious use of the power he has been given by God and the Constitution.

Just for once I want "CEO convicted of fraud making their comeback" to come back with some really boring business. Like, I want Elizabeth Holmes to serve out her sentence then come out swinging to raise funds to vertically integrate pallet construction.

Whenever I see any news about this guy, I always think of this:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38686150

There’s a reason he should be sitting in prison still. It’s not because he’s an honest human or a good businessman.

In my experience, people who are compulsive liars or those who are willing to make large or repeated deceptions for personal gain never change. It is as natural to them as breathing. Some of them I am quite convinced believe their lies, but the net result is the same.

I don't know Trevor Milton. I have never met him. Maybe he isn't a compulsive liar but just got in over his head and was trying to make it work. But I know I would never invest in something he is doing.

People like to invest in people like them. Simple as that.

An HTML5 super jet?

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For anyone that hasn't seen it, or just wants to reminisce, here's Hindenburg's report on Nikola, Milton's previous scheme. It is a truly hilarious read.

https://hindenburgresearch.com/nikola/

Text-only, HTTPS optional:

https://assets.msn.com/content/view/v2/Detail/en-in/AA1YRlL9...

The favor trading corruption is blatant without shame. More of the media should be highlighting these cases.

I cannot fathom the thinking of any party investing in the new company of a convicted fraudster.

> Trevor Milton’s conviction for defrauding investors in truck company Nikola was wiped away

Best justice money can buy.

> He’s now raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

With his history building the "truck that can roll unpowered down a hill" I shudder to think just how his jet would transform flying.

I love how the article talked about the big claims for improved flight capabilities without a single word describing what that supposed secret sauce may be.

is he going to roll it down a hill to make it take off?

Why? How?

Why would anyone give him money? Really. I'm blown away.

"Investor documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal said the goal is for the plane to be the first light jet to focus on artificial-intelligence flight."

Oh cool, can't wait for the vibe-coded autopilot to CFIT into the Rockies or dump itself into the ocean that it thought was totally a runway while a completely untrained, inexperienced hot shot with $10 million to blow flies this generation's V-tailed doctor killer[1] to their final destination.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Bonanza

> "There's a sucker born every minute" is a quotation often associated with American showman P. T. Barnum (1810-1891), although there is no evidence that he actually said it. Early instances of its use are found among salesmen, gamblers and confidence tricksters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_sucker_born_every_...

Fool me once, shame on you...

Fucking scamer piece of shit. I watched the whole saga and to anybody with a brain it was clear he was a scammer. Anybody that even did minimal research into the industry it was clear what he was doing. He spent most of the money on adds for his stock.

To make him sound credibly he agree to really shitty deals (for him) with credible companies. So he could say 'we are in business with X'. Of course GM was the biggest fish they got in that regard, of course the GM CEO at the time was on crusade to claim they were doing 'EV' so I think even they knew it was mostly scam, but it got them into the media.

He should be in prison.

Pathetic. Everyone in this story is pathetic. Trump, Milton, all of them.

Translation: Convicted fraud pardoned by convicted fraud is likely gonna fraud again

I'm sorry, but anyone Donald Trump has pardoned for fraud should not be trusted at all. It's literally a matter of "game recognizes game". If Donald Trump gets a cut of the fraud, that's all that matters to him.

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Says a lot about whether you can trust the WSJ.