Fisker Automotive

One of the reasons I went to the Detroit show was to see the introduction of Fisker Automotive. Here is some video from the Fisker reveal I took with my Flip video camera



Here is another video with some extended Q&A for those really interested.



My take: we'll see. Henrik seems to be taking all the plays straight out of the Tesla playbook (with some of the parallels so close it is downright eerie) but unfortunately he isn't learning from our past mistakes.

He is already quoting a price and taking reservations on a car that isn't even in drivable prototype phase. And it is a very aggressive price as well, considering he is going to distribute through dealers so they need to take their cut. We made the mistake of announcing pricing when we revealed the prototype and ended up having to raise prices when our costs increased, partially due to a plummeting US Dollar. Next time we won't announce final pricing until we are ready to ship. I assume his car will end up being much more expensive (which is fine.)

I think the most fascinating aspect of this endeavor is Fisker's joint venture partner, Quantum. Ever since someone forwarded me the investment brief for Fisker Automotive and told me the partner was Quantum, I have been following them and reading up. You can do your own research by looking at their SEC filings - the stock ticker is QTWW.

The two big questions in my opinion is whether they have or can get the technology, especially in the battery arena, to pull this off. The question will be considered in the media and specialist blogs, and there are some very bright people out there who will dig into it in great detail. The second thing that seems questionable is that they will be able to manufacture a car in the volumes that they are talking about in less than 2 years. If they can do that, then kudos to them. I have heard that they plan to outsource manufacturing to Magna, and that they plan to Manufacture in North America. 2 years is a very short time even if you have the car completely designed and validated. Fisker claims in his presentation that you are looking at the production car, but he is referring to the final stylistic design. The car is not a driver and has not been validated or tested yet. Designing and integrating the battery pack alone is going to be a very big undertaking. If indeed the design is frozen the engineers will be highly constrained in developing and implementing the powertrain. I'm no engineer but the tunnel where they plan to package the battery looks awfully small for a car that big with a planned 50 mile range (photo below)



Contrary to Jalopnik's speculation, WhiteStar is still very much alive. Is the Fisker Karma competition? Of course it is, but if there is one thing I have learned in my time at Tesla so far, there is a long road between here and there. Real competition is very good for the nascent EV market.