Founded in 2007 by Henrik Fisker, a Danish automobile designer, the company received significant private and public investment, including a $529 million loan from the federal government. The company raised over $1 billion from private investors.
However, it repeatedly missed production deadlines, and production of the Fisker Karma was suspended in November 2012 with about 2,450 Karmas built since 2011 and just over 2,000 cars sold worldwide.
The company's federal loan was suspended in 2011; the government recovered some of the invested funds, but nevertheless took a $139 million loss.
In February 2014, Fisker Automotive's Karma vehicle design, tooling and a manufacturing facility in Delaware were purchased by Chinese auto parts conglomerate Wanxiang Group. In 2016, Wanxiang would rename the holding company for the assets of Fisker Automotive to Karma Automotive.
Following Fisker Automotive's structured bankruptcy auction in February 2014, Henrik Fisker retained the Fisker logo and trademarks. Wanxiang Group then transformed the assets of Fisker Automotive into a new company named Karma Automotive, thus launching the Karma Revero plug-in hybrid car based on the Fisker Karma. Henrik Fisker would later start another electric vehicle company named Fisker Inc. in 2016 with the Fisker logo and trademarks
Launched in 2016 and based in Manhattan Beach, California, Fisker Inc. is the successor to Fisker Automotive. In the summer of 2020, Fisker Inc. announced an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp, a SPAC backed by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. The company completed the reverse merger that autumn. Fisker Inc. developed the Fisker Ocean, an electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), which was released in 2023.
In early 2024, the company experienced intense financial difficulties, and its shares were delisted from the NYSE.[10] Fisker defaulted on a short term loan according to filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission[11] and has stated there is “substantial doubt” about being able to sustain ongoing operations.[12] It subsequently laid off most of its employees, closed its headquarters, and began substantially reducing prices on its stock.[13][14][15] By June, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in US court.
In March 2024, due to a net loss of over $463 million in 2023, Fisker announced that it was in financial trouble and did not have the necessary funds to remain in business through the coming year. Due to this, the company reduced its workforce by 15% and paused development of the Pear compact EV. Fisker subsequently entered talks with a major car manufacturer (suspected to be Nissan) regarding a $400 million cash injection (in order to generate cash or reduce costs) in exchange for access to the Fisker Alaska pick-up platform.[45][46] Several weeks later, The Wall Street Journal reported that Fisker hired financial adviser FTI Consulting and the law firm Davis Polk to work on a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. As a result, Fisker's stock plummeted approximately 47% shortly after the announcement. The next day, Fisker dismissed talks of a bankruptcy filing, describing plans to engage with its advisors to plan out a deal with another major carmaker.
Nevertheless, Fisker soon announced that it would suspend vehicle production for six weeks in an effort to align inventory levels and progress strategic and financing initiatives. The company warned that bankruptcy was imminent and could occur within weeks.
One week later, on March 25, 2024, Fisker announced that the potential deal with the major carmaker had collapsed, and that the company was unable to meet a closing condition for a $150 million lifeline
In an article published on May 31, eight Fisker employees spoke to TechCrunch describing the dire situation at the company over the past few years.
In an article published on May 31, eight Fisker employees spoke to TechCrunch describing the dire situation at the company over the past few years.
The company lost track of payments made, taking months to complete an internal audit, with external auditor PwC receiving inadequate documentation from Fisker to compile their annual financial report.
Fisker CFO and COO, Geeta Gupta-Fisker attempted to run customer service using a digital chatbot rather than a call center, leading to customers struggling to get help with their cars. Fisker then hired a company to provide customer service, which later sued Fisker for failure to pay, alleging debts over $660,000. Gupta-Fisker also allegedly refused to build a stockpile of parts for service, in order to cut costs. The company did not set up a supplier quality team to audit suppliers, leading to substandard quality of parts on vehicles. In order to service cars, Fisker started "pinching" parts from their supplier Magna Steyr's production line in Austria, stripping down returned cars and cars used for marketing, as well as CEO Henrik Fisker's own Ocean. The supplier's employees were also asked to bring parts from Austria to the US in their luggage to solve the crisis.
Fisker CFO and COO, Geeta Gupta-Fisker attempted to run customer service using a digital chatbot rather than a call center, leading to customers struggling to get help with their cars. Fisker then hired a company to provide customer service, which later sued Fisker for failure to pay, alleging debts over $660,000. Gupta-Fisker also allegedly refused to build a stockpile of parts for service, in order to cut costs. The company did not set up a supplier quality team to audit suppliers, leading to substandard quality of parts on vehicles. In order to service cars, Fisker started "pinching" parts from their supplier Magna Steyr's production line in Austria, stripping down returned cars and cars used for marketing, as well as CEO Henrik Fisker's own Ocean. The supplier's employees were also asked to bring parts from Austria to the US in their luggage to solve the crisis.
An utter shit show, no one with any self respect would carry on like these last two paragraphs illustrate. Which was more of a debacle? The DeLorean, Fisker, or something I should be thinking of right now
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