Here is your Forbes Daily Briefing for Wednesday, August 14th.

Today on Forbes, Electric Trucks nearly killed Nicola,

now hydrogen ones are saving it.

Nikola, the electric truckmaker, has had a rocky few years. Its work to survive the reputational harm and share price

that resulted from the lives of its founder, that earned him a four-year

prison sentence.

He was forced to recall hundreds of its first electric semis to fix batteries at risk of catching

fire.

But since it began shipping hydrogen-powered big rigs

late last year, things are turning around. Jim Gillis is the president of the Pacific

region for Truck and Company I. M.C.

which has hundreds of semis hauling thousands of loads in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach daily.

He said, quote, it's a good truck. Feedback from the drivers, the fit and finish, it's just superlative.

It's referred to in our fleet as the Bentley of trucks.

Kalirville Tennessee-based IMC, which specializes in hauling loads between ports and warehouses,

is among Nicholas earliest and best customers, operating 50 of its hydrogen tray FCEV trucks right now with another 50 on order.

And drivers, even those wary of the truck's old school so-called cab over chassis, getting on board quickly Gillis told Forbes.

He said quote, when you first put a driver in front of it, that whole cab-over design,

kind of like a late 70s, early 80s model looking truck.

They're very apprehensive. But once they climb into it and go on one trip, they don't

want to go back. The user experience is just great.

Drivers love it because the Nicola model is vastly quieter than the roar of a diesel big rig and lacks its telltale vibration, and the dirty exhaust.

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