EV Maker Fisker Files for Bankruptcy (yahoo.com) 54
Fisker filed for bankruptcy on Monday, months after the electric-vehicle startup stopped production of its only model, the oft-malfunctioning Ocean SUV. From a report: Fisker is the second plug-in car company started by Henrik Fisker -- a famed designer of BMW and Aston Martin sports cars -- to end up in bankruptcy. An earlier venture, Fisker Automotive, filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2013 after a series of recalls spelled the downfall of its battery supplier, a fellow recipient of US Energy Department loans. The undoing of Fisker was more self-inflicted. The startup went public in 2020 as part of the wave of EV companies to benefit from the pandemic era boom in special purpose acquisition companies.
Combining with a SPAC sponsored by Apollo Global Management Inc. left Fisker with roughly $1 billion in cash and helped the company land a deal with a Magna International subsidiary that manufactures vehicles for the likes of Toyota, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. While Fisker Ocean sport utility vehicle production started on schedule in November 2022, the first SUVs lacked basic features including cruise control. The California-based company told customers it would deploy capabilities it had promised them the following year, via over-the-air software updates. Software bugs ended up slowing production for months, leading Fisker to repeatedly slash its forecasts. In February of this year, influential YouTuber Marques Brownlee produced a video -- This is the Worst Car I've Ever Reviewed -- that summarizes a series of issues he experienced while borrowing an Ocean from a New Jersey dealership.
Combining with a SPAC sponsored by Apollo Global Management Inc. left Fisker with roughly $1 billion in cash and helped the company land a deal with a Magna International subsidiary that manufactures vehicles for the likes of Toyota, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. While Fisker Ocean sport utility vehicle production started on schedule in November 2022, the first SUVs lacked basic features including cruise control. The California-based company told customers it would deploy capabilities it had promised them the following year, via over-the-air software updates. Software bugs ended up slowing production for months, leading Fisker to repeatedly slash its forecasts. In February of this year, influential YouTuber Marques Brownlee produced a video -- This is the Worst Car I've Ever Reviewed -- that summarizes a series of issues he experienced while borrowing an Ocean from a New Jersey dealership.
what? (Score:2)
how many times is it now lol ... like 4th or 5th time?
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It's like the Sears of EV's, took several repeat bankruptcies to finally kill it for good.
Re:what? (Score:4, Insightful)
What chance did they stand, when even established automakers have having troubles selling EVs to the current US market which has already saturated the early adopters and 'green' folks....leaving the general public who isn't all that interested in them presently.
You see Ford and others pulling back on EV manufacture numbers due to EV cars piling up on dealership lots, etc.
How's a "new guy" going to penetrate a market that has over the past couple years...grown colder.
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Village idiot found.
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Not sure who you think you're replying to...
I've never owned anything but 2-seater sports cars.
Re: what? (Score:2)
The fossil fuel industry gets a lot of subsidies, which favors ICEs.
The subsidies on EVs have gone down dramatically since the IRA was enacted.
Restrictions on battery sourcing, income, and others make the tax credit far more elusive than before. I believe this is a major factor in the growth of EVs slowing down. But their market share is still growing nevertheless
Re: what? (Score:1)
Can you please explain which ICE subsidies you are talking about and how that compares to the amount of subsidies for green energy and EV.
Re: what? (Score:2)
Read it again. I wrote fossil fuel industry subsidies, not ICE subsidies.
You can easily research that yourself. The fossil fuels get subsidized at 10x the dollar amount that EVs do.
Have you ever wondered why gas is so much more expensive in European countries ? It's because they are not subsidized the way they are here.
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>It's like the Sears of EV's,
more like Amiga . . .
!
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"I mostly liked the concept behind the Karma."
Didn't one of those run over somebody's dogma?
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In this case they filed chapter 11 which means they hope to continue existing in some manner.
Had they filed chapter 7 instead it'd be over.
Stupid article didn't say which; I had to go find a real article to find out.
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In this case they filed chapter 11 which means they hope to continue existing in some manner.
90% of the time, chapter 11 ends with the company going out of business anyway. It's like turning on the bilge pumps on the Titanic.
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Yeah but sometimes they do come out. It has happened. It's a hope.
Whereas ch7 is absolutely the end of the line, end of story.
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This time's a bit different.
1.) They can't find a VC firm dumb enough to give them money
2.) They can't make enough product that actually works well enough to sell
3.) Most importantly they can't find an idiot to buy them outside of early adopters who's already been burned.
Cruise Control is a "Basic" feature? (Score:2)
Since when? Who knew?
Jezz.
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While that may be, it seems like you're making a base for a "standard" feature rather than a "basic" feature. But that's probably just me.
Re: Cruise Control is a "Basic" feature? (Score:2)
Yeah. My 2001 Prius had it as an option. After that, I never shopped for another cat that didn't have it, and I wasn't screening based on that.
Have you just stepped out of the 1980s? (Score:2)
Its been standard equipment in all but the most poverty spec cars for a decade if not 2.
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Its been standard equipment in all but the most poverty spec cars for a decade if not 2.
Maybe outside of the USA, but in the USA even the least expensive cars include cruise control and power windows/door locks. We really don't actually have any truly cheap new cars here anymore, which is why it kind of sucks that the government decided to slap Chinese EVs with a 100% tariff to prevent that situation from actually ever improving.
A "poverty spec" new vehicle now means things like e-bikes and e-scooters, which I guess isn't too bad until you're stuck commuting to work in a rain or snow storm.
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Its been standard equipment in all but the most poverty spec cars for a decade if not 2.
Sounds about right. I'm a Canadian ex-pat living in the USA, with family still in Canada. Up to the early 2000s, when I booked a rental car for visits I'd always ask whether the car had cruise control. I don't need to bother anymore.
Actually saw one IRL (Score:3)
Had to take a picture because I didn’t recognize the design. Then later I read about this happening to an unfortunate owner. https://jalopnik.com/fisker-oc... [jalopnik.com]
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He should have stuck to designing cars (Score:1)
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I totally agree. I was wishing Fisker all the luck, as I do any small manufacturer that dares to do something cooler that the big boys, but signing off on the Ocean when it's clearly not ready and the quality is so bad was beyond inexcusable.
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With the fact that one will have to buy an EV [emphasis mine]
Must be one of those alternative facts. I drove by 3 car dealerships on my way to work this morning. Their lots were chock full of brand new ICE vehicles of every size and flavor. Cars, trucks, SUVs, anything you want. And considering I can still go out an purchase a used vehicle from basically any era, I would have to imagine ICE cars will be available to those who want one well into the next several decades.
Sure, in 10 to 20 years you MAY not be able to buy a new one, depending on where you live. But co
Re:How can an EV maker go bankrupt? (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to mention...that EV sales in the US are slumping/plateauing ....everyone that wants them, pretty much has them...and even some of those early adopters in polls are indicating they are going back to ICE due to the early on experiences of inconvenience.
EVs are piling up, taking a LONG time to sell on dealership lots compared to ICE vehicles.
EVs just dont' seem to be ready fully for prime time for the average driver in the US.
I have a feeling that these "mandate" laws they tried to set in some place for 2030...are going to be pushed forward a good number of years till the range and refusing experience are comparable to the current ICE vehicles people have enjoyed all their lives to date.
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I have a feeling that these "mandate" laws they tried to set in some place for 2030...are going to be pushed forward a good number of years till the range and refusing experience are comparable to the current ICE vehicles people have enjoyed all their lives to date.
Pretty much this right here. That's what I was getting at with my "whiplash" comment. As soon as the R's are in charge again you can bet your ass a lot of the "stuff" the D's put in place related to EVs is going to get rolled back.
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I have a feeling that these "mandate" laws they tried to set in some place for 2030...are going to be pushed forward a good number of years till the range and refusing experience are comparable to the current ICE vehicles people have enjoyed all their lives to date.
Pretty much this right here. That's what I was getting at with my "whiplash" comment. As soon as the R's are in charge again you can bet your ass a lot of the "stuff" the D's put in place related to EVs is going to get rolled back.
Forget American politics, you'll find them getting pushed back regardless. Even over here in Europe we're finding the hard deadlines softening as people are realising they're not realistic.
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It's not just EV sales slowing, its all new car sales. The prices kept rising and they landed beyond the budget of most consumers now that most people actually have to pay interest on their car loans, car payments to buy went from 300-400/month to 600-700/month and its really no surprise fewer people are purchasing.
Corporate greed took advantage of supply chain issues during Covid to jack up prices on everything using it as a convenient excuse long after it ceased being a problem.
For things like cars, the
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Well, cost of housing, in much if not most of the US was doing just fine....till people from CA and NY, etc....started moving out of their states and into ours, and paying stupid high prices for things.....
Re:How can an EV maker go bankrupt? (Score:4)
This reply just wreaks of CA and NY hate and totally ignores why they are "paying stupid high prices". Quite simply, there isn't enough housing in CA or NY being the most populous states, but FL has similar problems, same with Texas and Arizona. Houses being built are not starter homes, they are designed to be the most profitable. They are often luxury homes and even more often purchased by investor groups who collude to set rent as high as possible.
Combine that with places like Arizona where more than half the properties are sold to investors instead of primary residence holders and its easy to see why its getting more expensive. If a person is competing with a business to buy a property, they will almost always lose unless the seller is in a position to care about who they sell to.
The reality, is we simply aren't building affordable housing. Here in Scottsdale, they built one right next to my development and people cried as if affordable housing was a dirty word. In reality, now that they are built, they are simply nice affordable new apartments. Don't hear any complaints anymore.
Regulators need to set limits on areas to control how many primary residence holders are in a particular city vs how many are simply Airbnbs that pay for themselves come spring training or Phoenix Open, or Barrett-Jackson each year. Basically rent the house Jan-April and its all paid for and then some. Great for business, terrible for people that actually live here.
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and even some of those early adopters in polls are indicating they are going back to ICE due to the early on experiences of inconvenience.
I've actually talked to someone while at an EA station who said they were going back to ICE. They'd moved to an apartment and had no way to charge their vehicle.
Personally, I wouldn't consider living somewhere without EV charging. Fuck going back to buying gas.
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Hey, you gotta have what makes you happy.
I feel the same way about moving to and living in a place without a gas range in the kitchen.
I can not and will not cook on electric...ugh.
Different kinda gas I know...but I thought an interesting analogy that popped in my head.
Have a great day!
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I feel the same way about moving to and living in a place without a gas range in the kitchen.
This is the part where I share the shitty life pro tip that most gas stoves include a free LP conversion kit and will run just fine from a gas grill tank which can be conveniently stored in an adjacent pantry. Why let a few woke building codes and insurance policy rules stand between you and the cooking appliance of your dreams?
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Hey, you gotta have what makes you happy.
I feel the same way about moving to and living in a place without a gas range in the kitchen.
I can not and will not cook on electric...ugh.
Different kinda gas I know...but I thought an interesting analogy that popped in my head.
Have a great day!
I think we have the opposite opinion on gas stoves [scientificamerican.com].
I mean they're great to cook on, but those are some pretty significant health risks.
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You know...I've made it all these many years to be my current age cooking on gas....
I've not had any problems and I'd prefer the govt. NOT try to change how I like to live and cook, you know?
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You know...I've made it all these many years to be my current age cooking on gas....
There's people who smoke into their 100s, doesn't make it healthy either.
I've not had any problems and I'd prefer the govt. NOT try to change how I like to live and cook, you know?
I didn't suggest that the government do anything. But I recently bought a new house, and one of the things I was looking for was an electric stove, because if it was gas I'd have to tear it out and put in electric because I wasn't exposing my child to that health risk.
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You must be posting from the future.
Ambiguity (Score:2)
Fisker is the second plug-in car company started by Henrik Fisker
So was this the second Fisker company to make plug-in cars? Or was it the second Fisker plug-in company to make cars? I'm guessing the latter, since this is also the second Fisker company to have the plug pulled on it.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Computer on wheels (Score:2)
The problem is that a lot of car companies are trying to sell a computer system on wheels. The only thing different here is that this company not only got bit by their bad choices but got bit hard enough to kill it. I hope more computer car companies suffer the same fate.
Video (Score:2)
Here's the video referenced in TFS [youtube.com].
Again ... (Score:2)
If the name is Fisker avoid they will go bust making any warranties void, and spare parts impossible