Former CEO Mark Russell just sold shares of Nikola (NKLA)

Another day, another alumni insider sale Nicholas (NASDAQ:NKLA) CEO Mark Russell. Since September, Russell has sold 75,000 NKLA shares almost every other day. His most recent sale was on Dec. 19 when he sold 75,000 shares at an average price of $2.28 per share. Following the transaction, he still owns 1.95 million shares and stock options equivalent to 3.65 million shares.

Meanwhile, Nikola announced this morning that he had received a zero-emission powertrain executive order from the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The order is a requirement for Tre’s hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) to be eligible for CARB’s Hybrid and Zero Emissions (HVIP) Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program. Following the order, Nikola applied the Tre to be eligible for the following 2023 base incentives:

“$240,000 per truck; $270,000 per truck for drayage fleets; or up to $288,000 per truck for fleets of (i) 10 trucks or less, (ii) performing drayage operations, and (iii) located in a disadvantaged community area.

Additionally, the Cut Inflation Act states that buyers of the Tre battery electric vehicle (BEV) are eligible for an additional $40,000 clean utility vehicle tax credit next year.

However, shareholders are not reacting positively to the news as NKLA is down more than 5%.

NKLA Stock: Russell to Sell Stock

There are two caveats to Russell sales. First, all of its sales since September have been through a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. Second, the stocks he sells were all received at discounts to market prices. This is due to its stock option program, which has a conversion price of $1.06 and an expiration date of February 26, 2029. That’s more than 50% below the current market price. These regular and orderly sales of Russell do not convey a positive image of Nikola.

Over the past year, Nikola insiders have bought 6.59 million shares and sold 6.11 million shares. This corresponds to net activity of 480,603 shares bought, conveying a somewhat neutral tone.

Meanwhile, 13F filers hold a total of 99.87 million shares, up from 100.65 million shares in the second quarter. Additionally, a total of 253 13F filers hold shares of NKLA, up three filers from the prior quarter.

At the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (neither directly nor indirectly) any position in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to InvestorPlace.com Publication guidelines.