USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

Nikola Corporation

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 79 granted patents across 28 technology areas, active 2018–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: B60L (PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES ; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES ; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL ; MAGNETIC SU).

Compiled by PlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

10.8

Avg claims per patent

+458%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Nikola holds 79 US patents across 28 technology areas, rank #4,478 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#4,478
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 9%
by Innovation Score (53.0/100): 10.8
avg claims per patent: +458%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Nikola Corporation has been granted 79 US utility patents between 2018 and 2025, placing Nikola Corporation at rank #4,478 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 28 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 10.8 claims per patent with primary concentration in B60L (PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES ; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES ; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL ; MAGNETIC SU). As a US Corporation, Nikola Corporation is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Nikola sits between Institut Polytechnique DE Grenoble (79 patents, rank #4,474) and Nantero, Inc. (79 patents, rank #4,482) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 53.0/100 blends portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Filing cadence tells the strategic story. Between 2020 and 2025 the company received 67 grants, compared with 12 in the 2015–2019 window, a +458% shift in five-year velocity. An acceleration of this magnitude signals aggressive R&D investment and expanding technical ambition. The US Corporation classification further shapes interpretation, since corporate, government, and individual filers pursue patents for materially different reasons.

Claim depth and technology breadth together indicate competitive posture. Nikola Corporation's 10.8 average claims per patent suggests focused, narrowly drawn claims typical of single-invention filings, while a multi-domain presence across 28 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Nikola Corporation against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Institut Polytech…

79
IXYS

79
LES Laboratoires…

79
NHN Entertainment

79
Ninebot (Beijing)…

79
Nippon Mektron

79
Nissha

79
Nantero

79
Nikola ◀

79

What this shows Nikola holds 79 patents at rank #4,478, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Nikola

By rank, the assignees closest to #4,478 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in B60L (Propulsion OF Electrically-propelled Vehicles)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in Nikola's primary technology class.

Nikola's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

53 Top 9% higher than 91% of 50,000 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2018–2025

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2018–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

Nikola Corporation patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2018	7	8.9%
2019	5	6.3%
2020	9	11.4%
2021	7	8.9%
2022	13	16.5%
2023	10	12.7%
2024	17	21.5%
2025	11	13.9%

Which technologies does Nikola Corporation patent most?

B60L - PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES ; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES ; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL ; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICL 32

Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION 27

Y02T - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION 25

B60K - ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY 19

H01M - PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY 18

B62D - MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS 16

B60Y - INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO ASPECTS CROSS-CUTTING VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY 12

B60J - WINDOWS, WINDSCREENS, NON-FIXED ROOFS, DOORS, OR SIMILAR DEVICES FOR VEHICLES; REMOVABLE EXTERNAL PROTECTIVE COVERINGS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES 8

E05Y - INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES E05D AND E05F, RELATING TO CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS, ELECTRIC CONTROL, POWER SUPPLY, POWER SIGNAL OR TRANSMISSION, USER INTERFACES, MOUNTING OR COUPLING, DETAILS, ACCESSORIES, AUXILIARY OPERATIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, APPLICATION THEREOF 7

E05D - HINGES OR SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS 7

B60H - ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES 7

B60R - VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 6

B60N - SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 6

Y10S - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS 5

E05F - DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION; CHECKS FOR WINGS; WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING 5

Top 15 of 28 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Light

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Simple

Velocity Accelerating

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#4,478

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

53.0 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many patents does Nikola Corporation hold?

Nikola Corporation holds 79 US granted patents filed between 2018 and 2025, spanning 28 technology areas.

What is Nikola Corporation's Innovation Score?

Nikola Corporation has an Innovation Score of 53.0 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Nikola Corporation focus on?

Nikola Corporation's top technology area is B60L (PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES ; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES ; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL ; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICL) with 32 patents. The company has filed patents in 28 CPC subclasses total.

Is Nikola Corporation's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Nikola Corporation's recent filing velocity is +458% compared to the prior five-year period. This indicates accelerating innovation.

What does claim depth mean for Nikola Corporation's patents?

Nikola Corporation's patents average 10.8 claims each. This is relatively simple claim structure, typical for focused inventions.

How is the Nikola Corporation patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

How to use this portfolio

Nikola's 79 grants land it in the top 9% by Innovation Score, but volume alone doesn't tell you where the strength sits.

Read that count against the largest US assignees before treating it as dominance - Nikola ranks #4,478 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in B60L - see who else leads that technology area. B60L leaders
Check what the four-part Innovation Score actually rewards before comparing it to another company. How the score works

Patent counts and the Innovation Score measure patenting activity, not commercial success or the legal strength of any patent. Many patents are filed defensively. Verify the status of an individual patent against official USPTO records.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled by PlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.