MW Trevor Milton proves there's life after a Trump pardon - he's now CEO of a private-jet maker

By Lukas I. Alpert

The disgraced founder of Nikola Corp. was pardoned after being sentenced to four years in prison for fraud. Now he's in charge of SyberJet Aircraft.

Trevor Milton, founder of Nikola Corp., was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud, but was later pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Trevor Milton has come full circle in under a year - from convicted felon, to being pardoned by President Donald Trump, to being named chief executive of a private-jet manufacturer.

The disgraced founder of Nikola Corp. $(NKLAQ)$, who was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud for lying to investors about technological breakthroughs at the once-hyped electric-truck maker, has been named CEO of SyberJet Aircraft, the company announced Tuesday.

In a press release, SyberJet said Milton would guide the development of a new nine-seat light jet called the SyberJet SJ36. The company said it would be the fastest jet of its kind ever developed, with speeds clocking in as high as Mach .88.

"Over the last 20 years, SyberJet already built something extraordinary with the SJ30," Milton said. "Our job now is to take that foundation and push beyond every limit - speed, range, altitude, comfort and avionics. The SJ36 will show the industry what's possible when you refuse to accept compromises."

Milton said he had personally been involved in the development of the new jet, which the company said is expected to begin delivery in 2032 with a projected price tag of $14 million.

Milton, 43, was pardoned by Trump in March just weeks after prosecutors had argued in an appeals filing that the fraud Milton had perpetrated had cost Nikola's retail investors over $500 million.

Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its civil case against Milton, removing the possibility of him facing significant financial penalties.

Milton was charged in 2021 with claiming that Nikola had successfully manufactured working prototypes of hydrogen-fueled electric trucks and pickup trucks that would turn the industry on its head - when, in fact, they had never built any such thing.

Instead, prosecutors said prototypes presented to investors didn't work or were Frankenstein's monsters cobbled together from parts of other vehicles. In some demonstrations, they said, the trucks were powered by hidden wall sockets and were towed into position and rolled down hills to make them appear like they were working - a fact uncovered by short-selling investment firm Hindenburg Research.

Nikola filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

Milton was sentenced to four years in prison in late 2023 but had appealed. Soon after, he began ramping up his political donations, largely to Republican candidates and Trump himself. The lawyer handling his appeal was Brad Bondi, whose sister is U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

In the 2024 election cycle, Milton donated millions of dollars to nearly 100 state Republican organizations, Republican candidates and Republican-aligned committees, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

That included a $920,000 contribution to the Trump 47 Committee, which was a joint fundraising committee that funded the Republican National Committee, Trump's presidential campaign and state parties. Milton also donated to the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the secretary of health and human services.

Upon being pardoned, Milton thanked Trump "for his courage in standing up for what is right and for granting me this sacred pardon of innocence."

Trump later said he didn't know much about the case but noted that Milton had been a supporter.

"I don't know him, but they say it was very unfair, and the thing that he did wrong was he was one of the first people that supported a gentleman named Donald Trump for president," Trump said in March.

SyberJet is a Chandler, Ariz.-based light-aircraft manufacturer that has a long history developing the type of private aircraft Milton has been brought on board to build. The company dates back to the late 1950s, when it was founded by aviation pioneer Ed Swearingen.

In recent years, SyberJet has gone through a string of investors from Taiwan and Dubai in its efforts to develop a sellable model, and recently brought on board a new management team led by Milton.

-Lukas I. Alpert

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 07, 2025 14:11 ET (18:11 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.