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Henrik Fisker<\/a> once envisioned a burgeoning EV empire at the startup he named after himself, which was to be led by the Ocean SUV. But cracks started showing in that vision almost as soon as the Ocean hit the road in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fisker<\/a> cut production targets multiple times<\/a>, failed to meet sales goals<\/a> and laid off staff<\/a>. What\u2019s more, its Ocean SUV was beset with software and mechanical issues<\/a>, rendering it inoperable for some. Add troublesome brakes, sudden power loss and doors that wouldn\u2019t open to the list of issues that led to multiple safety investigations<\/a> and ultimately a pause in production<\/a> in order to raise new capital. <\/p>\n All of this and more has forced Fisker to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, marking the beginning of an inauspicious period for the eponymous startup. Below is a timeline of the events that led the automaker to this point. Scroll to the bottom to see the newest developments. <\/p>\n July 7<\/strong> \u2014 The automaker produced 1,022 Ocean SUVs in the second quarter of 2023, several hundred vehicles short<\/a> of its expectation of producing between 1,400 and 1,700 EVs.\u00a0<\/p>\n July 10<\/strong> \u2014 Fisker announced plans to sell $340 million in convertible debt<\/a>, expecting the net proceeds to be $296.7 million. The automaker said it planned to use the funds to support its general corporate operations and add an additional battery pack line to \u201csupport growth\u201d in 2024 and beyond. The company said funds will also be used for capital expenditures and the development of future products.<\/p>\n December 1<\/strong> \u2014 Fisker cut its annual production guidance<\/a> in an effort to free up $300 million in working capital. The company said it expected to produce about 10,000 vehicles in 2023. The production guidance is just a quarter of Fisker\u2019s bullish forecast from a year ago.<\/p>\n January 1<\/strong> \u2014 Fisker remained far from meeting its publicly stated goal of delivering 300 electric SUVs per day globally<\/a>. The EV startup spent much of December aiming to meet an internal sales goal of between 100 and 200 vehicles a day in North America, where the bulk of its inventory and sales efforts are. Fisker fell well below that target, often selling just one to two dozen of its Ocean SUVs a day here.<\/p>\n January 15<\/strong> \u2014 Federal safety regulators have opened an investigation<\/a> into Fisker\u2019s first electric vehicle over braking problems. Owners had lodged 19 complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on issues ranging from brake loss to problems with the gear shifter to a driver door failing to open from the interior and two instances of the vehicle\u2019s hood suddenly flying up on the highway.<\/p>\n February 9<\/strong> \u2014 Since the initial fleet of Fisker Ocean SUVs were delivered, customers have reported more than 100 separate loss-of-power incidents<\/a>. The company told TechCrunch it believes these problems are rare and that it has resolved \u201calmost all the issues\u201d with software updates. Customers have also reported sudden loss of braking power, problematic key fobs causing them to get locked inside or outside of the vehicle, seat sensors that don\u2019t detect the driver\u2019s presence and the SUV\u2019s front hood suddenly flying up at high speeds.<\/p>\n February 16<\/strong> \u2014 The NHTSA opened a second investigation<\/a> into Fisker\u2019s Ocean SUV after the agency received four complaints<\/a> about the vehicle rolling away unexpectedly, resulting in one injury. The company told TechCrunch it is \u201cfully cooperating\u201d with the safety agency.<\/p>\n February 29<\/strong> \u2014 Fisker announced its plan to lay off 15% of its workforce<\/a> and says<\/a> it likely does not have enough cash on hand to survive the next 12 months. The company says it is trying to find a way to raise that money as it works through a pivot from direct sales to a dealership model. <\/p>\n March 18<\/strong> \u2014 Fisker announced it would pause production of its electric Ocean SUV for six weeks<\/a> as it scrambles for a cash infusion. The company said in a regulatory filing that it had just $121 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 15, $32 million of which is restricted or not immediately accessible. Fisker also said that its accounts payable balance is up to $182 million and that there is \u201csubstantial doubt\u201d that it can continue operations without raising new capital.<\/p>\n March 25<\/strong> \u2014<\/strong> The negotiations between Fisker and a large automaker \u2014 reported to be Nissan \u2014 over a potential investment and collaboration were terminated<\/a>, a development that puts a separate near-term rescue funding effort in danger. Fisker revealed in a regulatory filing that the automaker terminated the negotiations March 22. It did not explain why. But the company had to keep the negotiations going as part of one of the closing conditions for a potential $150 million convertible note<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n March 25<\/strong> \u2014 The New York Stock Exchange suspended trading shares<\/a> of Fisker and moved to take the company off its stock exchange, because it is \u201cno longer suitable for listing\u201d because of \u201cabnormally low\u201d price levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n March 27<\/strong> \u2014 Fisker temporarily lost track of millions of dollars in customer payments<\/a> as it scaled up deliveries, leading to an internal audit that started in December and took months to complete. Fisker struggled to keep tabs on these transactions, which included down payments and in some cases, the full price of the vehicles, because of lax internal procedures for keeping track of them, according to three people familiar with the internal payment crisis. In a few cases, it delivered vehicles without collecting any form of payment at all, they said.\u00a0<\/p>\n April 29<\/strong> \u2014 Fisker laid off more employees<\/a> to \u201cpreserve cash,\u201d making good on a plan announced one week before<\/a>, according to an internal email viewed by TechCrunch. Fisker expects to seek bankruptcy protection within the next 30 days if it can\u2019t come up with that money, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing.<\/p>\n May 3<\/strong> \u2014 Fisker stopped paying the engineering firm<\/a> that helped develop the Pear, a low-cost EV meant for the masses, and the Alaska, Fisker\u2019s entry into the red-hot pickup truck market. The firm also accuses Fisker of wrongfully holding on to IP associated with those vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n May 10<\/strong> \u2014 The NHTSA opened a fourth investigation<\/a> into the Fisker Ocean SUV to probe multiple claims of \u201cinadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking.\u201d The eight complaints allege that owners experienced sudden activation of the Automatic Emergency Braking system in moments where there were no other vehicles or obstructions in the path of their cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n May 29<\/strong> \u2014 Hundreds more employees were laid off during the final week of May<\/a> in a bid to stay alive, as the automaker continues to search for funding, a buyout or prepare for bankruptcy. One current and one laid off employee estimated that only about 150 people remained at the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n May 31<\/strong> \u2014 The road to Fisker\u2019s ultimate ruin<\/a> may have started and ended with its flawed Ocean SUV, which was riddled with mechanical and software problems. But it was paved with hubris, power struggles, and the repeated failure to set up basic processes that are foundational for any automaker.<\/p>\n June 12<\/strong> \u2014 Fisker\u00a0issued the first recall for the Ocean SUV because of problems with the warning lights, according to new information published by the NHTSA. The instrument panel displays the brake, park and antilock brake system warning lights in the wrong font size and, at times, in the wrong color, making them noncompliant with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The agency also says \u201cmultiple warning lights fail to illuminate during the ignition cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n June 18<\/strong> \u2014 After a year of struggling to stay afloat, Fisker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection<\/a>. The California-based company had been seeking a deal with another automaker in a last-ditch effort to rescue the enterprise. The company estimated assets of $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million, according to the filing.\u00a0<\/p>\n June 18<\/strong> \u2014 In the wake of its bankruptcy<\/a>, Fisker said it will continue \u201creduced operations,\u201d including \u201cpreserving customer programs, and compensating needed vendors on a go-forward basis.\u201d In other words, it will continue to manage a bare-bones operation in case there is a willing buyer of the assets it\u2019s putting up for sale in the Chapter 11 case.<\/p>\n June 21<\/strong> \u2014 According to a new filing in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, Fisker was facing \u201cpotential financial distress\u201d<\/a> as early as August 2023. That looming financial distress drove Fisker to solicit a partnership or investment from another automaker, according to the filing.<\/p>\n June 21<\/strong> \u2014 The fight over Fisker\u2019s assets is already charged<\/a> just days into its bankruptcy filing, with one lawyer claiming the startup has been liquidating assets \u201coutside the court\u2019s supervision.\u201d At issue is the relationship between Fisker and its largest secured lender, which loaned Fisker more than $500 million in 2023 at a time when the\u00a0company\u2019s financial distress was looming\u00a0behind the scenes.<\/p>\n July 3 \u2014<\/strong> If a judge in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court approves Fisker\u2019s request<\/a> to sell its remaining inventory to a New York-based vehicle leasing company, the automaker would be able to offload 3,231 finished EVs for $46.25 million, or around $14,000 per vehicle.<\/p>\n July 9 \u2014<\/strong> Henrik Fisker and his wife, Fisker co-founder Geeta Gupta-Fisker, are lowering their salaries to $1<\/a> in order to keep their failed EV startup\u2019s\u00a0bankruptcy proceedings\u00a0funded. In addition to the salary reductions, Fisker\u2019s restructuring officer, John DiDonato, said in Tuesday\u2019s filing that Fisker will defer \u201ccertain severance payments, certain employee healthcare benefits, and vehicle sale incentive bonuses\u201d that have not yet been paid.\u00a0<\/p>\n July 15 \u2014<\/strong> The office of the U.S. Trustee, an arm of the Department of Justice that oversees the administration of bankruptcy, is objecting to a deal<\/a> that would keep Fisker\u2019s bankruptcy proceeding alive and pave the way for paying back creditors some of what they\u2019re owed.<\/p>\n July 16 \u2014<\/strong> A bankruptcy judge gave Fisker the green light to sell more than 3,000 of its Ocean SUVs<\/a> to a vehicle leasing company, which will net the defunct EV startup a maximum of $46.25 million. The approval of the sale clears the way for the rest of Fisker\u2019s bankruptcy process to play out as it continues to liquidate what\u2019s left of its failed business.<\/p>\n July 29 \u2014<\/strong> The question folks are asking: does the automaker\u2019s loan secured lender Heights Capital Management deserve to be at the front of the line to reap the proceeds of a liquidation?\u00a0The entities reached an agreement<\/a> to hammer out a settlement in the coming weeks on how to liquidate its assets. If successful, the case could remain in Chapter 11. If not, it would convert to Chapter 7, which would effectively dissolve Fisker forever. <\/p>\n September 18 \u2014<\/strong> One of the many questions Fisker owners had as the company worked through the bankruptcy process was how the outstanding recalls would be handled. In mid-September, the company suddenly suggested that it would cover the cost of parts, but that those owners would have to pay out of pocket for labor costs. Just as suddenly, Fisker flipped<\/a>, saying it<\/em> would cover labor costs.<\/p>\n October 4 \u2014<\/strong> The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed in a filing that it opened an investigation<\/a> into Fisker, and that it could bring actions \u201calleging violations of the federal securities laws.\u201d The financial regulator told the bankruptcy court that it already sent multiple subpoenas, but was concerned Fisker didn\u2019t have a plan in place to preserve its records. (The bankrupt EV startup ultimately allayed the SEC\u2019s concerns, and the status of the probe is unknown.)<\/p>\n October 5 \u2014<\/strong> The landlord of Fisker HQ\u2019s final resting place \u2014 a facility in La Palma, California \u2014 says the building was abandoned in \u201ccomplete disarray,\u201d with hazardous waste and even full-size vehicle clay models left behind<\/a>. The landlord\u2019s filing describes a messy few days in which, apparently, Fisker employees as well as representatives of an auction house emptied the facility. <\/p>\n October 7 \u2014<\/strong> The U.S. Department of Justice, writing on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, tells the bankruptcy court<\/a> it thinks Fisker\u2019s attempt to push recall labor costs on owners is illegal. The objection ultimately helps change Fisker\u2019s mind a final time. <\/p>\n October 8 \u2014<\/strong> Fisker throws a major curveball<\/a> at the bankruptcy court, after it told American Lease it did not believe it would be able to transfer necessary data to a new, non-Fisker server. American Lease revealed the snag in a filing and told the judge that it may not be able to complete the sale \u2014 which would jeopardize Fisker\u2019s settlement plan with its creditors.<\/p>\n October 16 \u2014<\/strong> Fisker was able to resolve the flurry of eleventh-hour problems described above and get its liquidation plan confirmed by the bankruptcy court. The company reversed course and agreed to cover the labor costs of its recalls. It worked out a solution with American Lease regarding the transfer of vehicle data. And a trustee was appointed to oversee the sale of the remainder of Fisker\u2019s non-vehicle assets, including around $1 billion worth of equipment left in Austria, where the Oceans were built.<\/p>\n Henrik Fisker and his wife Geeta (who was also CFO and COO of the company) established a charitable foundation in late 2021 meant to \u201cincubate innovation in healthcare, education, sustainability, mobility, and all causes that help support the planet and improve and further the lives of people and animals.\u201d <\/p>\n But a review of tax filings with the IRS show the foundation never gave out more than around $100,000, and has since been shut down. The pair wound down the nonprofit<\/a>, according to tax filings that were made public in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n2023<\/h2>\n
Fisker fell short of its Q2 production target<\/h3>\n
Fisker sold convertible notes to fund operations<\/h3>\n
Production target cut<\/h3>\n
2024<\/h2>\n
Fisker struggled to meet internal sales goals<\/h3>\n
Ocean SUV investigated over braking loss complaints<\/h3>\n
Owners had flagged sudden power loss and brake problems for months<\/h3>\n
Feds opened second probe into the Ocean SUV after rollaway complaints<\/h3>\n
Fisker laid off 15% of staff<\/h3>\n
Pause in production with just $121 million in the bank<\/h3>\n
Fisker lost Nissan deal, putting rescue funds at risk<\/h3>\n
Trading suspended by NYSE<\/h3>\n
Fisker lost track of millions of dollars in customer payments for months<\/h3>\n
New round of layoffs to \u2018preserve cash\u2019<\/h3>\n
Fisker stiffed engineering firm<\/h3>\n
Fisker Ocean faced fourth federal safety probe<\/h3>\n
Hundreds of workers cut to keep EV startup alive<\/h3>\n
Inside Fisker\u2019s collapse<\/h3>\n
Ocean SUV issued first recall<\/h3>\n
Fisker filed for bankruptcy<\/h3>\n
Fisker failed because it wasn\u2019t ready to be a car company<\/h3>\n
Fisker faced financial distress as early as August 2023<\/h3>\n
The fight over Fisker\u2019s assets is already heating up<\/h3>\n
Fisker asks bankruptcy court to sell EVs for about $14K each<\/h3>\n
Henrik Fisker, Geeta Gupta-Fisker drop salaries to $1<\/h3>\n
Fisker has one major objector to its Ocean SUV firesale<\/h3>\n
Fisker cleared to sell North American EVs for $46.25 million<\/h3>\n
The question haunting Fisker\u2019s bankruptcy<\/h3>\n
Fisker flips on who will pay for recalls<\/h3>\n
The SEC opens an investigation<\/h3>\n
Fisker\u2019s HQ abandoned in \u2018complete disarray\u2019<\/h3>\n
The DOJ says Fisker\u2019s recall repair plan is illegal<\/h3>\n
Fisker\u2019s fleet buyer balks at completing the sale<\/h3>\n
Fisker\u2019s bankruptcy plan confirmed<\/h3>\n
2025<\/h2>\n
Henrik Fisker quietly winds down his nonprofit <\/h3>\n