GM says it will not build Nikola’s electric pickup truck as earlier announced in November

General Motors (GM) will not be taking a stake in the electric vehicle company Nikola Motors.

This has left Nikola scuttling one of its marquee vehicles—the Badger pickup—after GM scrapped a tentative deal to jointly build the truck.

“In a nutshell, the signing of GM as a partner is a positive but ultimately no ownership/equity stake in Nikola and the billions of R&D potentially now off the table is a major negative blow to the Nikola story,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. “This went from a game-changer deal for Nikola to a good supply partnership but nothing to write home about.”

The original agreement fell apart after a short-seller criticized Nikola and identified the company as fraudulent – a charge Nikola has denied.

The Badger pickup had been a centrepiece of the earlier proposed deal with GM and now is unlikely to be built.

Nikola, which had said the vehicle depended on finding a manufacturing partner, said Monday it will refund all deposits taken for the truck.