Henrik Fisker once envisioned a burgeoning electric vehicle empire at the startup he named in his honor, which was to be led by the Ocean SUV. But cracks began to appear in that vision almost as soon as Ocean hit the road in 2023.
Fisker repeatedly cut production targets, failed to meet sales targets and laid off staff. Additionally, its Ocean SUV was plagued with software and mechanical issues, rendering it unusable for some. Add problematic brakes, sudden loss of power, and doors that wouldn’t open to the list of problems that led to multiple safety investigations and ultimately a pause in production in order to raise new capital.
All this and more forced Fisker into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, marking the start of an inauspicious period for the eponymous startup. Below is a timeline of the events that led the automaker to this point.
2023
Fisker missed its second quarter production target
July 7 — The automaker produced 1,022 Ocean SUVs in the second quarter of 2023, several hundred vehicles short of its expectations to produce between 1,400 and 1,700 electric vehicles.
Fisker sold convertible notes to finance its operations
July 10 — Fisker announced plans to sell $340 million of convertible debt, expecting net proceeds to be $296.7 million. The automaker said it plans to use the funds to support its general corporate operations and add an additional battery line to “support growth” in 2024 and beyond. The company said the funds would also be used for capital expenditures and future product development.
Reduced production target
1st December — Fisker reduced its annual production forecast in an effort to free up $300 million in working capital. The company said it plans to produce about 10,000 vehicles in 2023. The production forecast is only a quarter of Fisker’s bullish forecast from a year ago.
2024
Fisker struggled to meet internal sales goals
January 1st — Fisker is still far from reaching its publicly stated goal of delivering 300 electric SUVs per day worldwide. The EV startup spent much of December hitting an internal sales target of between 100 and 200 vehicles per day in North America, where the bulk of its inventory and sales efforts are located. Fisker has fallen well short of that goal, often selling only one to two dozen of its Ocean SUVs a day here.
Ocean SUV under investigation following complaints of loss of braking
January 15 — Federal safety regulators have opened an investigation into Fisker’s first electric vehicle for braking problems. Owners had filed 19 complaints with NHTSA for problems ranging from loss of brakes and problems with the shifter to a driver’s door that would not open from the inside and two cases of the vehicle’s hood falling apart. suddenly flying off the highway.
Owners reported sudden loss of power and brake problems for months
February 9 — Since delivery of the initial fleet of Fisker Ocean SUVs, customers have reported more than 100 separate incidents of power loss. The company told TechCrunch that it believes these issues are rare and that it has fixed “almost all issues” with software updates. Customers have also reported sudden loss of stopping power, problematic key fobs causing them to lock inside or outside the vehicle, seat sensors that do not detect the driver’s presence, and the hood front of the SUV suddenly rose up at high speed.
Federal government opens second investigation into Ocean SUV after complaints about wheelchair
February 16 — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a second investigation into electric vehicle startup Fisker’s Ocean SUV after the agency received four complaints about the vehicle rolling unexpectedly, including one injury. The company tells TechCrunch that it is “fully cooperating” with the security agency.
Fisker laid off 15% of its staff
February 29 — Fisker has announced plans to lay off 15% of its workforce and says it likely does not have enough cash to survive the next 12 months. The company says it’s trying to find a way to raise that money while moving from direct sales to a dealership model.
Production paused with only $121 million in the bank
March 18 — Fisker said it will suspend production of its Ocean electric SUV for six weeks as it scrambles for a cash infusion. The company said in a regulatory filing that it had only $121 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 15, of which $32 million is restricted or not immediately accessible. Fisker also said its accounts payable balance stands at $182 million and that there is “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operations without raising new capital.
Fisker lost Nissan deal, putting bailout funds at risk
March 25 — Negotiations between Fisker and a major automaker — believed to be Nissan — over a potential investment and collaboration have ended, a development that puts a separate rescue financing effort at risk in the near term. Fisker revealed in a regulatory filing that the automaker ended negotiations on March 22. He didn’t explain why. But the company had to continue negotiations as one of the closing conditions of a possible $150 million convertible note.
Trading suspended by the NYSE
March 25 — The New York Stock Exchange suspended trading of Fisker shares and decided to delist the company from its exchange because it is “no longer suitable for listing” due to “abnormally low” price levels.
Fisker lost track of millions of dollars in customer payments for months
March 27 — Fisker temporarily lost track of millions of dollars in customer payments as it ramped up deliveries, leading to an internal audit that began in December and lasted for months. Fisker struggled to keep tabs on these transactions, which included down payments and, in some cases, the full price of the vehicles, due to lax internal procedures for tracking them, according to three people familiar with the crisis. internal payments. In a few cases, it delivered vehicles without any form of payment, they said.
New wave of layoffs to “preserve cash flow”
April 29 — EV startup Fisker Inc. is laying off more employees to “preserve cash,” in line with a plan announced a week earlier, according to an internal email viewed by TechCrunch. Fisker hopes to file for bankruptcy protection within the next 30 days if it cannot raise that money, according to a regulatory filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Fisker stiffed the engineering company
May 3 — Fisker stopped paying the engineering firm that helped develop the Pear, a low-cost electric vehicle for the masses, and the Alaska, Fisker’s entry into the red-hot pickup truck market. The company also accuses Fisker of wrongfully owning intellectual property associated with these vehicles.
Fisker Ocean faces fourth federal safety investigation
May 10 — The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a fourth investigation into the Fisker Ocean SUV to investigate several allegations of “inadvertent automatic emergency braking.” The eight complaints allege that owners experienced sudden activation of the automatic emergency braking system at times when there were no other vehicles or obstacles in their car’s path.
Hundreds of workers cut to keep electric vehicle startup alive
May 29 — Hundreds more employees were laid off in the last week of May in an effort to stay alive as the automaker continues to seek financing, a buyout or prepare for bankruptcy. One current employee and one terminated employee estimated that only about 150 people remained with the company.
In Fisker’s collapse
May 31st — Fisker’s road to ultimate ruin may have started and ended with his faulty Ocean SUV, riddled with mechanical and software problems. But it has been paved with hubris, power struggles and repeated failures to put in place basic processes that are fundamental to any automaker.
The Ocean SUV issued its first recall
June 12 — Fisker has issued the first recall for the Ocean SUV due to problems with warning lights, according to new information released by NHTSA. The dashboard displays brake, parking, and anti-lock braking system warning lights in the incorrect font size and, sometimes, in the incorrect color, making them noncompliant with federal motor vehicle safety standards . The agency also states that “several warning lights do not illuminate during the ignition cycle.”
Fisker filed for bankruptcy
June 18 — After a year of struggling to stay afloat, Fisker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The California-based company was looking to strike a deal with another automaker in a last-ditch effort to save the company. The company estimated its assets at between $500 million and $1 billion and its liabilities at between $100 million and $500 million, according to the filing.
Fisker failed because it wasn’t ready to become a car company
June 18 — Following its bankruptcy, Fisker said it would continue its “scaled-down operations,” including “preserving customer programs and compensating necessary suppliers in the future.” In other words, it will continue to run a core operation in case there is a willing buyer for the assets it is putting up for sale in the Chapter 11 case.