Hindenburg Research,  an investment research firm that focuses on short-selling, released a story about Lordstown Motors, Friday, March 12, with a headline that reads: 'The Lordstown Motors Mirage: Fake Orders, Undisclosed Production Hurdles, And a Prototype Inferno.'

Hindenberg in its article alleges that Lordstown Motors orders for nearly 100,000 pre-orders of its Endurance electric truck are 'largely fictitious' and misled the public, government regulators and investors on the progress of its upcoming truck.

The story is sending Lordstown Motors stock price plummeting Friday.

According to the Wall Street Journal story, Hindenburg Research recently disclosed that it holds a short position in Lordstown Motors, meaning it stands to profit from declines in the company’s share price.

The WSJ is reporting that Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns responding in an interview said the report contained half-truths and lies, and that the short seller has a motivation to hurt the stock before the company reports its first quarterly update as a publicly-traded entity next week.

According to the WSJ, Burns confirmed the company paid consultants to generate pre-orders that were understood to be nonbinding as a way to assess market demand but denied it misrepresented its pre-order book.

“We are not stating these are orders and have never stated that,” he said.

Phil LeBeau, a reporter for CNBC who reports on the automotive sector and airline industry, told 21 News in an email that "it's a strong allegation by Hindenburg Research. In general terms, it is accusing Lordstown of misleading investors about non-binding reservations for the Endurance pickup truck. If true, it calls into question the plans/claims Lordstown has made as it builds out its plant, etc."

LeBeau noted that Hindenburg is short selling Lordstown Motors and would stand to profit from this. LeBeau added that "Hindenburg's research last year exposed Nikola late last year... so they have credibility and a track record Wall Street pays attention to."

Lordstown Motors issued the following statement Friday evening: 

"We will be sharing a full and thorough statement in the coming days, and when we do, we will absolutely be refuting the Hindenburg Research report."