The downfall of Nikola founder and former CEO Trevor Milton began last year when a short-seller report was released alleging fraud and numerous deceptive tactics in order to dupe investors (including General Motors), manipulate public opinion, as well as private individuals. Along with a semi-truck, there was also the Nikola Badger pickup truck, a direct rival to the Tesla Cybertruck.

But unlike Tesla's funky-looking truck, the Badger had far more conventional looks and would supposedly be available as either a pure battery-electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. And therein lies another piece of fake news brought to us by Milton, who was charged last week with three counts of fraud by the US Justice Department.

He's since been released by a judge on a $100 million bond after pleading not guilty. The department's indictment is full of troubling details about Milton's actions, among them a public claim the Badger's fuel cells would be capable of creating drinking water and washer fluid. Milton didn't even discuss this option with his engineers beforehand. They were completely caught off-guard by his statement.

"At that point," prosecutors wrote, "Milton had not discussed with Nikola's engineers the idea of using fuel cell by-product as washer fluid or drinking water, and several days later attempted to determine if it was even possible by searching on the internet, 'can you drink water from a fuel cell?'"

Automotive News points out a 2014 article Milton likely read regarding Toyota testing a similar system. It found exhaust water to be safe but highly recommended no one should drink it. The reactions from Nikola engineers following Milton's statements on Twitter were pretty funny. One guy said that Milton's "head is fuzzy" while another thought it was an outright joke. One designer texted a colleague the following: "'[u]hhhhh what.'"

Milton may have had interesting ideas, but making them into a reality has proven difficult and in some cases impossible. This dishonesty led people to send Nikola $5,000 deposits for pre-order Badger slots. The total number of pre-orders was never announced but all deposits have since been fully refunded.