2012 Fisker Karma on 2040-cars

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Did Katy Perry really just buy five Fisker Karma PHEVs for her employees?

We'll admit it, this is a strange little story. California Gurls singer Katy Perry was apparently so smitten by the California automaker Fisker that she bought five of the company's plug-in hybrid Karma for members of her staff. Reports say that she spent $500,000 dollars on the cars. Of course, this might all be nonsense. Everyone is saying that the original source for the news is the Daily Star, but there's no such report on the DS website. Then there's this obviously wrong quote from "a friend" of Perry's: "They are completely electric and top of the range in car luxury but she hates the smog in the air in LA. In total she spent over half a million dollars on the cars and now her conscience is clean." Karmas are not all-electric, of course, and if all it takes is money to erase your conscience, then we say well done, Ms. Perry. So we have to wonder if this isn't some elaborate prank designed to draw new celebrity attention to the Karma, since it's been a while since Justin Beiber had his own chrome Karma dreams. Or maybe people are just making things up. Either way, we like the idea of the Perry watching Paranoia and thinking, "I should get that status symbol for my posse."

Fisker becomes Karma Automotive

Meet the new boss. It's not the same as the old boss. This is the new Fisker Automotive, which has just changed its name to Karma Automotive. The new Karma Automotive says that this name has always been a part of the brand. On the company's new website (which you can access from either the new karmaautomotive.com URL or the previous URL, thenewfisker.com), it says that, "It's a name that respects our past, while simultaneously reinventing our future." That future theme is splashed across the new site. Here's more from the "Why Karma?" section: "We don't have to do things as anyone has done them before. What's important is that we act with intention." As for the company's new logo, there's a hidden message. The new emblem has, "An imperfect ring, representing constant effort towards unattainable perfection, encircling the earth. With a spark of sun, the eternal symbol of endlessly renewable energy. Inner cut lines represent our three brand priorities." Those priorities are to be beautiful, clean, and memorable. Of course. As we learned back in 2014, the logo for Fisker Automotive was the property of Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, and was used under license by Fisker Automotive. As longtime Fisker fans likely know, the original logo represented co-founders Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler standing on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Henrik Fisker is not involved with the current owner of the Fisker brand, Wanxiang, so the name change makes sense. It was previously rumored that Wanxiang would drop the Fisker name in favor of Elux. Turns out, only half of that rumor appears to be true. The relaunched plug-in hybrid might start production in the middle of 2016. Fisker Automotive Reveals New Name And Logo Karma Automotive - honors iconic design and communicates future direction COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Fisker Automotive and Technology Group announced a name change today to Karma Automotive. The company also launched its new website, including a video that reveals its new logo at karmaautomotive.com. "With new ownership, a new management team, and a new production site, all here in California, it was time to communicate change," said James Taylor, Karma's Chief Marketing Officer. "Karma" was chosen because it is relevant to both the old and new brands, while providing an aspirational message which embodies the company's purpose. "Karma is based on the principle of cause and effect, where your actions create your future.

EV startups are about to report another quarter of fierce cash burn

U.S. electric-vehicle startups are expected to report another quarter of dwindling cash reserves next week, piling pressure on a group of companies that are struggling to ramp up production and have few options for funding in a turbulent economy. Having gone public with hopes of shaking up the automobile industry, these companies have seen their market valuations evaporate in the past few months as EV demand slows and market leader Tesla Inc cuts prices to stoke orders. Lucid Group kicks off first-quarter earnings for the group on Monday, with the company expected to report a 36% sequential slide in cash reserves, according to Visible Alpha. Rivian Automotive, meanwhile, will likely report on Tuesday that its cash balance fell by 6.8% to $10.78 billion from the preceding quarter, per a Visible Alpha estimate. The Amazon.com Inc-backed firm, whose shares have declined by nearly a quarter this year, is also expected to report a larger loss of $1.75 billion as both deliveries and production fell in the period. It posted a $1.59 billion loss a year ago. Fisker Inc and Nikola, both of which report earnings on Tuesday, are expected to see their cash reserves decline by 5% and 15%, respectively, according to Visible Alpha. "Any company that's losing money with a low valuation is toast and EVs are no exception. I think it is just a slow bleed. Maybe they'll get lucky and some of their technologies maybe bought by bigger players," said Thomas Hayes, chairman of hedge fund Great Hill Capital. A drop in valuations of companies has rendered selling equity for precious cash more ineffective and investors are becoming increasingly unhappy with their stake being diluted as several startups are yet to recognize revenue from operations. British EV startup Arrival SA and Nikola have issued going-concern warnings in the past few months, with the former set to merge with blank-check firm Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp in a bid to raise cash. Lordstown Motors said this week it could be forced to file for bankruptcy due to uncertainty over a funding deal with major shareholder Foxconn. Its earnings in an unscheduled release on Thursday showed Lordstown's cash balance fell 11% sequentially. Some of the companies including Lucid and Rivian have also said they would not provide data on reservation numbers going forward, sparking some concern among investors. It is a "disturbing development," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said.