Less than a year after President Donald Trump personally pardoned him, Trevor Milton is once again selling a vision of the future — this time from the cockpit instead of the driver’s seat.
The controversial entrepreneur, best known as the founder of the bankrupt electric-truck startup Nikola, is now CEO of SyberJet Aircraft and actively raising $1 billion at a $4 billion valuation to build a new generation of planes — many of them powered and piloted by artificial intelligence.
According to a detailed Wall Street Journal investigation, Milton has already recruited dozens of former Nikola engineers and is betting everything on two flagship concepts: a next-generation civilian light jet and an autonomous military fighter.
The Nikola Story: From Hype to Conviction
Milton founded Nikola in 2014 promising revolutionary battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell semi-trucks. The company went public via SPAC in 2020, briefly surpassing Ford’s market cap on pure hype.
But in 2020 short-seller Hindenburg Research accused him of systematic fraud: exaggerated technology claims, non-existent hydrogen infrastructure, and a now-infamous promotional video in which a Nikola truck appeared to drive itself — when in reality it was simply rolling downhill with the power off.
The fallout was brutal. Nikola settled with the SEC for $125 million. Milton was convicted on three counts of securities fraud in 2022 and sentenced to four years in prison. The company filed for bankruptcy in early 2025. Milton never served time — he remained free on bail pending appeal.
Then came the pardon. In March 2025, President Trump called Milton personally and granted him a full, unconditional pardon, wiping away the conviction and $676 million in potential restitution. Milton and his wife had donated at least $3.2 million to Trump’s campaign and aligned causes, though Milton insists the donations had “absolutely no role” in the decision.
“Welcome to the Club”
Post-pardon, Milton says doors that once slammed shut are now wide open. In his first major interview since the pardon, he told the Wall Street Journal:
“Now I walk into meetings, and the richest people in the world shake my hand and say, ‘Welcome to the club. You’ve been through the trial by fire. Now we can trust you.’”
From Trucks to Jets: The SyberJet Bet
In 2024 Milton and an unnamed investor quietly acquired SyberJet Aircraft — a nearly dead business-jet company with roots in the 1980s. The plan is to completely reinvent it using AI as the core technology.
The project has two main tracks:
- Civilian Jet (SJ36 successor): A nine-seater light jet that Milton claims will offer the highest speed and range in its class — plus what he proudly calls “the largest toilet” in the category. It will feature an all-new AI-integrated avionics system with touch-screen controls, over-the-air updates, and eventually full autonomy.
- Autonomous Military Fighter: An AI-piloted combat or surveillance aircraft promising double the range, higher payload capacity, and a price tag several million dollars lower than current competitors.
Milton is refreshingly blunt in investor documents: “The probability of success is minimal, and the probability of failure is high.” He warns that anyone investing must believe in autonomous flight and be ready for “enormous amounts of regulation, delays, and other issues we do not see coming.”
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Will This Time Be Different?
Milton insists he has learned from Nikola. He’s building on existing SyberJet designs rather than starting from zero, has already secured engine deals, and is lobbying Washington heavily on AI aviation rules.
Critics see history repeating: bold promises, sky-high valuation, and a founder with a fraud conviction now erased by presidential pardon.
Supporters argue the experience has hardened him — and that AI flight may be the one arena where his particular brand of vision and salesmanship can actually succeed.
Poll: What’s your prediction for Trevor Milton’s aviation comeback?
Nikola 2.0 — This will end the same way
He’ll pull it off — The pardon and experience have made him unstoppable
Drop your vote below. The aviation world — and plenty of investors — will be watching closely.
