Your Nikola trucks need to talk

To reconnect your Nikola fleet, email us at info@hyroadenergy.com or visit https://www.hyroadenergy.com/contact.

Nikola trucks were built to drive—and to do much more. The Tre BEV and FCEV trucks were designed to be connected. They need to phone home! From the start, these are software‑defined vehicles that rely on cellular IoT connectivity, cloud data platforms, and digital apps to operate at full capability. During Nikola’s bankruptcy process, all cellular lines to production trucks were shut off on or before July 26, 2025. The result has been a cascade of short‑ and long‑term issues across three groups: drivers, fleet managers, and the trucks themselves (in human terms, the asset owners).

Each group has lost meaningful capabilities as communications ceased and software and data access degraded. Drivers’ mobile apps may no longer control trucks remotely (even if installed before app‑store delisting). Fleet managers can’t assign or remove drivers for access control. Maps in the cab and Fleet app don’t load properly. Problems compound over time as normal wear on trucks leads to faults that go undiagnosed without data.

Hyroad enters the stage

The good news: Hyroad Energy is ready to help Nikola owners restore and support critical information systems. Starting December 2025, we will offer a software‑as‑a‑service subscription at $299 per truck per month, with 10% off for an annual, prepaid subscription. The package includes cellular data service, continuous truck‑to‑cloud connectivity, the Nikola Fleet web app with live data, and the Drive mobile app (iOS and Android). It’s the full suite of Nikola digital products.

Hyroad understands the importance of truck connectivity and software. As the new owner of the largest fleet of Nikola trucks, we have real skin in the game—with more than 100 hydrogen FCEVs to get on the road and keep running. We entered the bankruptcy bid process originally for physical assets, then evolved our plans to include Nikola’s intellectual property and software. As the largest Nikola owner, we saw the need to become a cornerstone for other owners.

Hyroad may be leading the charge, but the community of Nikola owners are in this together. Operating a software platform for these trucks is essential—for your Nikola trucks and for Hyroad. It takes a lot to support cutting edge vehicles, and the more Nikola owners that utilize support programs, including physical maintenance and software, the more Hyroad can do to support owners.

What happened when your Nikola truck lost its cloud connection?

Maybe your trucks still run today. So what’s actually lost?

Nikola trucks, like any modern vehicle, produce a lot of data. Most of that data remains in onboard Electronic Control Units (ECUs), even when cloud connected. But unlike most commercial vehicles, Nikolas exchange substantial data with a purpose‑built cloud platform through a powerful, bespoke data pipeline.

This exchange serves many purposes:

• Users can interact with near realtime data in Fleet and later use it for reporting and diagnostics.

• Tracking and management data includes GPS location, hydrogen fuel levels, hauling load, battery state of charge, and more.

• “Events” are generated when specific conditions occur, such as a fault with sufficient severity or a collision. For certain events, high‑density time‑series data from related signals is batched to the cloud for investigation.

• Some data is user‑generated. For example, when a driver is assigned or unassigned in Fleet, access control settings push from the cloud to the truck and are made available to the driver’s mobile Drive app so the phone and truck know to unlock the doors.

• Perhaps most importantly, over‑the‑air (OTA) software updates are pushed from the cloud to trucks for upgrades, enabling reliability updates and improvements.

Here’s a summary of capabilities restored when Nikola trucks can communicate with the functioning software:

Drivers

• The Drive app will lock or unlock trucks for drivers that are assigned going forward—and any assignment changes made since the last truck communication will go into effect once communication is restored. Bluetooth has continued to work throughout, and now trucks will again know which phones to allow when drivers approach.

• The Drive app will again remotely control assigned trucks from any distance: HVAC, powertrain pre‑conditioning, light checks, lock or unlock truck, and honk or flash to identify a truck will be back online.

• Maps in the cab will have destination searching capability restored.

Fleet Managers

• Assigning or unassigning drivers will again have the intended effect. Changes will push to trucks and drivers’ phones. Centralized, dynamic access control capability is restored. Driver assignments can be updated, new drivers added to the fleet, and drivers who are no longer with your company can be removed.

• The Fleet web app will once again show accurate truck locations. The blue dots will again start moving on the maps in Fleet and will reflect driving or parked locations in real time.

• Dashboards and reporting data return. Odometer readings, fuel and battery levels, H2 fuel economy, battery energy efficiency, comparative driver and truck performance, collision events, fault events, and diagnostic data are all restored to Fleet, and historical data will be backfilled.

Trucks (and their owners)

• OTA software update capability returns, helping avoid potentially major issues for trucks not on the latest version. Comprehensive vehicle software updates are designed for secure, signed, validated OTA packages, requiring cloud connectivity to download and install.

• Full diagnostics capabilities are unlocked, including access to performance data only available for cloud connected trucks. While drivers may have had some limited visibility to faults on the in‑vehicle display (the VHU), the full spectrum of fault events and diagnostic data returns, so now issues have a much better chance of being fully, quickly diagnosed.

• Simple issues can be fixed remotely. Many known faults—some that even limit operation—can be resolved by remote identification and reset or by an OTA update. Connectivity makes minor problems much less likely to take trucks off the road, and shortens time to resolution.

Losing cloud connectivity steadily erodes these critical capabilities for drivers, fleet managers, and the vehicles themselves. Hyroad is stepping in to restore and maintain these foundational technologies: secure truck‑to‑cloud connectivity, live app features, and a path back to OTA updates and reliable maintenance—backed by our 100+ FCEV fleet and the operational expertise of former Nikola technicians and engineers. Starting December 2025, our subscription brings your trucks back online and keeps them there, reducing downtime and restoring control. If you’re ready to reconnect and stabilize your operation, Hyroad can help you do it quickly and reliably.

You likely have questions - and we're here to answer them.

Visit https://www.hyroadenergy.com/contact or email us at info@hyroadenergy.com to get started.