Friendly but fighting: the history of Tesla and Fisker
The Wall Street Journal Magazine has published an interesting look at the battle between Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive. The rival California startups are both trying to build premium electrically-driven cars but are taking very different approaches. The stories of the two companies have taken some strange twists and turns as Henrik Fisker was once called upon to pen the shape of what was supposed to become Tesla's second car, the Model S. Even after announcing the launch of Fisker's own company, Tesla chairman Elon Musk brought Fisker back in to do more work on the Model S before Fisker left for good. Fisker and Tesla have taken very different approaches to the drivetrains of their respective vehicles as well, with Tesla sticking with nothing but batteries while Fisker has opted for the extended range electric vehicle route.
One thing the WSJ article fails to address is whether ultimately either company will prove to be financially viable in these difficult economic times. With sales of everything on the market, including premium cars, declining faster than the stock market, it's unclear how long the backers will hold out and whether buyers will step up to the plate for these expensive machines.
[Source: Wall Street Journal Magazine]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mmstowes 6:26PM (12/16/2008)
Fisker has the advantage of watching Tesla's mistakes, learning from them and trying not to repeat them. Tesla has the advantage, IF the Model S comes to market, of undercutting the Karma. My obvious bias against Tesla aside, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.
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jake 6:53PM (12/16/2008)
Yeah it'll be interesting with the Model S undercutting the Fisker with a $60k car vs an $87k car (assuming Tesla eventually produces the Model S). But Fisker has the advantage of coming out earlier and also as you mentioned they already saw all the mistakes Tesla made on their first car so they are starting with better knowledge of how to run the company.
The Volt, assuming GM doesn't go bankrupt, will also be interesting since it'll be $40k, half the cost of the Fisker. I wonder how that'll impact the sales of the Fisker and of Model S.
Then we have the BYD plug-in hybrid which undercuts the Volt even, at $22k. That's even more interesting because it's highly affordable (even though there are questions of quality and safety).
In all I'm excited about the release of all of these cars, I hope they all make it to market.
Torbjorn 6:35PM (12/16/2008)
Fisker, IMHO has the right idea with his hybrid. The people whom buy this car will not only "feel green" (so important for some people these days), it will be green compared to an S-Class Merc or similar premium sedan and still cost around the same or less. It is one hell of a design as well. An added bonus, don't need the unbilical cord (like a battery only car (TESLA)) to tap into the wall socket to get to VEGAS from LA and back in one day. WooHoo.
KUDOS to you FISKER....can't wait to see these on the road.
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