© Reuters. Logo of U.S. truckmaker Nikola is pictured at the IAA Transportation fair, which will open its doors to the public on September 20, 2022, in Hanover, Germany, September 19, 2022. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer
(Reuters) – A Nikola electric semi-truck caught fire near the company’s Phoenix headquarters in Arizona, it said on Friday, the second such incident this week involving the firm’s vehicle.
The company’s shares fell about 15% to 88 cents, and are down nearly 55% since Nikola announced in August a recall of all battery-powered electric trucks it had delivered and paused sales after an investigation into some earlier fires.
Earlier this week, another of its Tre battery-electric truck caught fire in Tempe, Arizona, which affected one battery pack.
No one was injured in both the incidents.
The latest truck to catch fire was a pre-production unit that was undergoing battery fire investigation and testing, the company said.
The company had suspected foul play when it started an investigation in June after trucks at its headquarters caught fire. However, last month Nikola cited a coolant leak inside a battery pack as the cause following the investigation.
A total of 209 battery-powered electric trucks were in the marketplace between dealers and customers at the time of the recall.
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