Fisker, the brand that wanted to be Tesla – in fact, its founder collaborated with Elon Musk’s firm in its beginnings – is going through very delicate moments, so much so that its continuity is totally compromised. Faced with this situation, the company has made a drastic decision to try to stay afloat: lowering its Ocean model – the only one it has for sale – to a knockdown price.
The American company applies the largest rate cut to the top-of-the-range version, called Extreme, which now costs $37,499, which represents a discount of $24,000 (39%). The other versions of this SUV will also be much cheaper and the cheapest will be under $30,000.
The objective is to position it as “a more affordable and convincing electric vehicle option,” said the firm, which is trying to address its liquidity problems. Earlier this month, the company halted production and warned it might have to file for bankruptcy if it couldn’t pay its debt.
On March 18, Fisker reported that it had secured a commitment of $150 million in financing from an existing investor; However, that deal was conditional on an agreement with an unnamed large automaker for the investment. Without the aforementioned agreement, the brand needs to renegotiate the terms of its financing or seek other options, including filing for bankruptcy.
This critical situation for the company has been aggravated by the deficiencies presented by its electric model, launched on the market in 2022. Consumer Reports, which would be a kind of American OCU, carried out an analysis of the car and the conclusions were bad. The analysis, carried out by Keith Bayy, indicates that the vehicle appears to have been launched on the market prematurely, with software problems that the firm has assured that it will resolve.
On the other hand, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened two investigations after two owners of an Ocean complained that their vehicle was drifting and showing a partial loss of braking, problems that allegedly caused two injuries. .
In any case, it should be noted that Tesla also has several investigations open by this body for accidents supposedly caused by a malfunction of its Autopilot driving assistance system.
The Fisker Ocean is a five-door, 4.77 meter long electric SUV that is also sold in some European countries. The most affordable version develops 275 horsepower, has front-wheel drive and offers an estimated range of 440 kilometers. The top of the range (Extreme) has two motors, one on each axle, which develop a total of 550 HP. According to the brand’s data, it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and can travel almost 580 kilometers on a single battery charge.