2023 Fisker Ocean on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Auto startups chasing Tesla race past red flags to go public

Missed out on the Tesla rally but still want to surf the electric vehicle wave? A stream of EV-related startups backed by blank-check firms is lining up to go public so there are plenty of choices. But like Tesla in the early days, few have products ready to sell or any likelihood of generating significant revenue anytime soon. Instead, investors will be relying on rosy production, sales and revenue forecasts for new cars, trucks and batteries, all set to be jostling for a slice of markets that will be far more crowded than when Tesla's cars first hit the road. Take Fisker Inc, for example. It was launched in 2016, just three years after the bankruptcy of its predecessor and early Tesla rival Fisker Automobile. In July, Fisker Inc announced a $2.9 billion reverse merger deal with Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), and is planning to go public later this year. It has no revenue and its Fisker Ocean electric sports-utility vehicle (SUV) is at least two years away from production in a project heavily dependent on nailing down deals with partners who will build the car and provide key components. That's not particularly unique for young companies in the sector looking to use SPACs to go public and bypass the scrutiny of a traditional IPO process, according to company presentations and interviews with executives and investors. That also didn't seem to be an issue earlier this year when U.S. electric truck maker Nikola Motors used a SPAC to go public. Shares in the company that hopes to generate revenue next year almost trebled after listing on the Nasdaq exchange. But they slumped when a short-seller questioned whether founder Trevor Milton had made false claims about Nikola's technology, forcing the 38-year-old entrepreneur to step down as executive chairman — and making some investors more cautious. Nikola and Milton have publicly rejected the accusations and have threatened to take legal action against the short-seller, Hindenberg Research. "Good storytelling is an important component of being a good founder and entrepreneur — but it better not be the only component," says Evangelos Simoudis, managing partner and founder of startup investor Synapse Partners. 'IT'S A FORECAST' Fisker Inc's founder Henrik Fisker is well known in the industry for designing sports cars such as Aston Martin's Vantage, and for his failed EV firm Fisker Automobile that went bust in 2013 after burning through more than $1 billion.

VLF finally delivers first V8-powered, Karma-based Destino

The Destino idea has been bouncing around in Bob Lutz's head for a while, but in January things got serious when Lutz, Karma designer Henrik Fisker, and entrepreneur Gilbert Villarreal got together to form VLF. A few months later, Lutz says the first Destino is on its way to a customer, The Detroit News reports. As a reminder, the Fisker Karma ended up in foreign-ownership purgatory after the Fisker Automotive outfit hit financial troubles in 2013. That was around the same time we first heard rumblings about the Destino. As the Destino has evolved (and the company that builds it has changed names and relaunched itself), some things remain the same. There's still a GM LS9 supercharged V8 in it, best known as the engine at the heart of the C6 ZR1, driving the rear wheels. The Destino starts at $229,000, and it's on sale, well, now. Related Video: Featured Gallery VLF Destino View 12 Photos News Source: The Detroit News Fisker GM Automakers Luxury Performance Sedan corvette zr1 Henrik Fisker vlf automotive

Henrik Fisker seeking Indian joint venture

Henrik Fisker may have backed out of the luxury hybrid automaker that bore his name, but don't dismiss him as down for the count just yet. In his latest initiative, the Dutch automotive designer is looking into starting up a joint venture in India. According to the Economic Times, Fisker was recently on the sub-continent visiting factories and holding meetings with Indian automakers that could see some sort of joint venture announced in the next three to four months, with Henrik himself tipped to join the board of his partnering automaker in an advisory capacity. India is home to such automakers as Tata, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra. It's now been a year since the designer parted company with Fisker Automotive, which was bought by Chinese parts supplier Wangxiang for $150 million. Since then, Fisker's penned designs on an ad-hoc basis, including a high-end Mustang for Galpin and a custom motorcycle for Viking, through his new consultancy HF Design & Technology. Before starting Fisker Automotive, Henrik Fisker designed such notable machinery as the Aston Martin DB9, BMW Z8 and the ill-fated but beautiful Artega GT. He then got into the coachbuilding business, rebodying Mercedes SLs and BMW M6s for discerning and wealthy customers. News Source: Economic TimesImage Credit: Nam Y. Huh/AP Design/Style Green Fisker Henrik Fisker