Tesla competitor Nikola sinks 17% after debut earnings report misses forecasts and analyst call turns contentious

• Nikola shares slid as much as 17% on Wednesday after the company's debut earnings release missed estimates.
• The electric-truck manufacturer's second-quarter loss totaled $86.6 million, more than five times its loss a year ago.
• Analysts pressed for new details on Nikola's pipeline in a Tuesday earnings call but received little.
• "Is this all we get?" Paul Coster of JPMorgan asked. Jeff Osborne, an analyst at Cowen, said Nikola's rollout timeline was "a bit confusing."
• Watch Nikola trade live here.

Nikola tumbled as much as 17% on Wednesday after the company's first earnings report missed estimates and prompted analyst scrutiny.

The electric-truck maker on Tuesday posted an $86.6 million total loss over the quarter, more than five times the amount it lost in the same period last year.

Nikola said the coronavirus pandemic had caused some disruption to its supply chain. Still, the company said production of its Tre semitruck was on track to begin in the fourth quarter. Once production at the German plant begins, the firm expects to build up to 10,000 vehicles a year.

Here are the key numbers:

• Loss per share: $0.16, versus the $0.13 estimate
• Adjusted Ebitda loss: $47 million, versus $15.5 million in the year-ago period

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It didn't take long for tensions to emerge between the automaker and analysts. Nikola's founder, Trevor Milton, called out Wall Street in a tweet soon after the report's release, saying that the automaker "actually beat our earnings by 20%" and that analysts "had the share count wrong."

Analysts asked tough questions about the company's plans and vehicle timeline on an earnings call. Nikola has so far revealed a deal with Anheuser-Busch and refrained from announcing new customers for its semitruck. Updates on its Badger pickup model were also scarce.

"So, Mark, I just wonder, is this all we get?" Paul Coster, an analyst at JPMorgan, asked CEO Mark Russell.

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"What you have to trust is there's a lot more going on than what you see in the announcements," Russell said. "We're having lots of conversations with lots of people, and when we are able to announce those publicly, we're going to do it."

Jeff Osborne, an analyst at Cowen, said the company's product timelines were "a bit confusing."

Nikola closed Tuesday at $38.84 per share, up roughly 276% year-to-date.

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