Here's How Fisker Died From Self-Inflicted Wounds

Fisker produced just over 10,000 cars in 2023, delivering around 4,700 units of its Ocean crossover to customers across 12 markets worldwide. While the company claimed it was already a revenue-generating company, Fisker started this year with a new means of making money: car dealerships. In the U.S., Fisker opted to ditch its direct sales model in favor of partnering with traditional dealerships.

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When the Fisker Ocean finally rolled off the production line, the initial reaction was one of surprise. Fisker did it, the company managed to release a product in a highly sought-after segment. Maybe this could be the automaker turning over a new leaf, showing the world it can really build cars with broad appeal. However, as customers began getting their hands on the cars things started to go wrong.

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Things were about to get worse for the Ocean, as moaning buyers don’t have anywhere near as much might as the U.S. government, which launched a probe into the electric car earlier this year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into issues around the Ocean’s ability to move, specifically the car’s ability to shift between gears.

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Sales of the Fisker Ocean began in earnest in 2023, with the front-wheel-drive version starting just under $39,000 and offering 231 miles of range, and the mid-tier $53,000 model offering 350 miles of range and all-wheel drive. However, that wasn’t enough to stop the company’s spiral, and the Wall Street Journal reported this year that Fisker’s financial situation could be best described as “dire” after it lost nearly half a billion dollars last year.

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If complaining customers, inquiring safety inspectors and circling debt collectors wasn’t enough, things at Fisker got a whole heap worse when a YouTube reviewer got their hands on the Ocean. Tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, who has amassed an incredible 18.5 million, pulled no punches in his review of the EV, which he branded “the worst car I’ve ever tested.”

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One biblically bad review wasn’t enough for the Fisker Ocean and Consumer Reports also had its own share of misery to bring Fisker’s way. When it got its hands on the electrics SUV, Consumer Reports described the Ocean as “quite unappealing in its current state.” The site also lamented its lackluster safety features like blind spot warning and lane keep assist, and criticized its lack of cruise control and unreliable Bluetooth connection, despite its $63,981 price tag.

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There was a silver lining to all that bad press for Fisker, though, as it meant anyone in the market for an Ocean could pick up an absolute bargain. When it launched, the Ocean came with a relatively reasonable starting price of $37,499, and even the top-of-the-line Ocean One wasn’t ridiculously priced at just under $70,000. However we managed to find one for sale for less, much less, than that. In fact, we tracked down a 2023 Fisker Ocean One selling for just under $50,000.

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By March 2024, Fisker was officially in deep shit. Talks with a large automaker for a potential deal reportedly collapsed and trading of company shares on the stock market were halted. Fisker’s last ditch attempt to save itself reportedly including looking into other strategic options like in- or out-of-court restructuring and capital market transactions.

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In a last-ditch attempt to reignite interest in the automaker, Fisker began slashing prices on the Ocean, with the base model being available for less than $25,000. As recently as March 2024, you could buy a $38,999 Fisker Ocean Sport at a $14,000 discount, bringing the price down to $24,999 before any state or local rebates.

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While federal regulators concluded their investigation into the Ocean’s ability to move, another probe was launched into the car’s faulty doors. Auto safety regulators opened a preliminary probe into the SUV because of complaints that the doors of the electric crossover sometimes didn’t open when you wanted them to.

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There’s nothing quite like kicking someone when they’re down, as YouTuber Marques Brownlee found when he got behind the wheel of another Ocean. Brownlee gave the car a second chance and despite the promised software updates coming to fruition, he never changed his position on the car and it remains the worst car he’s ever reviewed.

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A door ding is a pretty minor mishap that can happen to the best of us. Usually, it’s a pretty simple fix that involves maybe polishing out the panel, adding some new cladding or, if it’s really bad, replacing the door. For Fisker, however, the damage proved to be a ding too far for one Ocean owner who had to have their entire car totaled over the minor mishap.

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The cause of the totaled Ocean quickly revealed itself when it transpired that Fisker was pretty low on inventory of spare parts for the cars it had sold. However, the company had a trick up its sleeve to source parts for anyone else who’s car broke: a “graveyard” full of of preproduction cars and parts that you could raid for pieces to fix customer cars.

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As the writing started appearing on the wall for Fisker, the struggling automaker made things even worse for anyone unlucky enough to have one of its cars parked on their driveway. In May, Fisker sent out an email to Ocean owners in the U.S. and Puerto Rico that, effective immediately, cancelled their roadside assistance.

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Fisker, after the disastrous launch of the Ocean crossover, is not doing so hot. For CEO Henrik Fisker, founder of both Fisker Automotive and VLF Automotive, it’s a tale as old as time — spin up a car company, make a few copies of one car, and then crash and burn in spectacular fashion. A new report from TechCrunch, though, starts to connect the dots on why this keeps happening to Fisker’s companies: The man himself.

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