Nikola Corporation (NKLA), the company’s pre-revenue investing in trucks powered by electric batteries, as well as hydrogen fuel cells, took a big step today to start commercial operations.

According to Form 8-K filed by Nikola with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a few moments ago, the company entered into a strategic partnership and a share subscription agreement with General Motors.

Keep in mind that this agreement must be closed by September 30, 2020. If, however, both parties are unable to close this agreement by December 3, 2020, either party may terminate the agreement.

To summarize, General Motors will retain Intellectual Property (IP) rights for its platform, while Nikola will control IP ownership in connection with the customized top of their vehicles. In addition, initially, the IP license under METDA was granted by General Motors to Nikola for the North America region. Crucially, Nikola will reimburse General Motors $ 700 million in funds that will be spent to increase manufacturing capacity to 50,000 units a year from “the two initial vehicles” .