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Farewell Fisker. Hello Tesla!

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Not The First, Nor The Last Dreamer To FailLike DeLorean and Preston Tucker before him, Fisker underestimated the amount of capital it takes.  The departure of Henrik Fiskerfrom his self-named car company adds yet another name to the list of dreamers who thought they could be successful automakers.Whether or not he goes down in history a Gaston Chevrolet or John DeLorean depends on the current managers at Fisker, with whom Henrikcited as having irreconcilable differences over the future of the hybrid luxury car company.This is not to say that Fisker’s dream is doomed, but the company he founded faces a number of severe challenges to its survival as an independent make.Like DeLorean and Preston Tucker before him, Fisker underestimated the amount of capital it takes to be in the business. While the business model of having a supplier, in this case, Finland-based Valmet, building a high-priced limited-edition car had merit, in execution Fisker fell short of the mark of meeting expectations. It took far longer than anticipated to bring the Karma to market. Quality problems, issues with battery supplier A123 and the port disaster during Hurricane Sandy that destroyed 300 cars dogged the company.
Matt DeLorenzo is the former editor-in-chief of Road & Track and has covered the auto industry for 35 years, including stints at Automotive News and AutoWeek. He has authored books including VW’s New Beetle, Chrysler’s Modern Concept Cars, and Corvette Dynasty.

If these setbacks weren’t enough, the ambitious plans to build a second lower-priced model,

the Atlantic, in the old General Motors’ Wilmington, DE, assembly plant, also diverted attention and resources needed to make the Karma a success.

Fisker’s approach stands in stark contrast to that taken by Elon Musk and Tesla, and therein lies the difference in where the two companies stand today.

Fisker’s approach stands in stark contrast to that taken by Elon Musk and Tesla.

While Fisker has a great auto industry background, he came to the table with virtually no money, relying on others to fund his dream. By contrast, Elon Musk is an auto industry neophyte who happens to be a billionaire thanks to PayPal. While Musk does have outside investors, he wasn’t afraid to dip into his own wealth to keep Tesla alive at critical junctures.

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The other big difference is in the products themselves. The Karma is what I would consider an outside-in car, as opposed to Tesla’s inside-out approach. Fisker, as a designer, penned a beautiful car that, beneath the skin, used a drive system that sourced componentry from existing manufacturers. Tesla, however, began first with its proprietary drive system and sourced its Roadster – the car around the drivetrain-from Lotus, before engaging designers to do the Model S and Model X. Beyond that, rather than relying on other manufacturers for key parts, Tesla has licensed its technology to and has gotten investments from Toyota and Daimler-Benz.

And while Fisker’s plans for the Wilmington plant have stalled, Tesla was successful in converting the former GM-Toyota plant in Fremont, CA., over to Model S production using former managers from Toyota.

Without its founder, what then are the prospects for Fisker? The biggest loss and calling card for Fisker is the man himself and his design sense. Both the Karma and Atlantic are distinctive-looking vehicles and whether or not that design legacy can be built upon will be a key to the future success of the brand.

The biggest loss and calling card for Fisker is the man himself and his design sense.

As for remaining independent, given the current state of finances, that’s not likely. It had been reported that

Fisker was negotiating with the Chinesefor either an infusion of cash or an outright sale in order to save the company.

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A likely scenario would be Fisker’s acquisition by a car company looking for an upscale brand to complement its standard offerings. Fisker is attractive on that score for two reasons. The first is that it is somewhat established in the marketplace with a look that is still fresh. The second would be the fuel economy credits that Fisker can generate thanks to its plug-in electric technology.

Whether or not the current management can find such a partner will be the difference between whether Fisker becomes a mere footnote in automotive history or a marque that endures.

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Cybertruck

Tesla launches Cybertruck orders in a new market with a catch

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is launching Cybertruck orders in a new market, but there’s a bit of a catch.

The Cybertruck was launched in the Middle East earlier this year, as Tesla launched the ability to place a reservation for the all-electric pickup in the United Arab Emirates. It would be the first market outside of North America that would have the ability to place an order for the Cybertruck.

Tesla confirms Cybertruck will make its way out of North America this year

Other markets where the vehicle has been widely requested, like Europe and Asia, have still not approved the vehicle to be sold to the public, mostly because of size and design restrictions.

However, in the UAE, Tesla is opening up the ability for those who placed reservations for the vehicle to finally put in their order. The Order Configurator is only available to those who have already placed a reservation; it is not yet available to the public.

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Tesla said it would open up the public online configurator across the Middle East in the coming weeks:

The UAE is not the only country that will have access to the Cybertruck, as fans in other Middle Eastern countries will also be able to place orders soon. Tesla announced back in April that Saudi Arabia and Qatar would also have Cybertruck deliveries.

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These vehicles will be built at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas plant just outside of Austin, as Gigafactory Berlin and Gigafactory Shanghai, two factories located in the same hemisphere as the Middle East, do not have established lines for Cybertruck production.

As for the other markets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted that the company could develop a smaller Cybertruck for those markets, as he admitted that in the long term, it likely made sense to build a more compact version for regions where roads are traditionally tighter.

Elon Musk hints at smaller Tesla Cybertruck version down the road

There has been no evidence of Tesla developing this more compact version, but it could eventually happen.

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Tesla rolls out new life-saving feature for kids in Europe

On average, 37 children die every year from being left in vehicles unattended.

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tesla model x
Credit: Tesla

Tesla is rolling out a new life-saving feature in the European market, one that has been available in the United States for some time and can be considered potentially invaluable.

One of the most preventable causes of death for children is being left in cars unattended. On average, 37 children die every year after being left in hot vehicles. The cause of death is usually heatstroke, and it is incredibly avoidable.

Tesla rolls out new crucial safety feature aimed at saving children

However, there are instances where kids are left in vehicles and lose their lives, something that many companies have tried to fight with alerts and features of their own.

Tesla is one of them, as it has rolled out features like ultrasonic sensors to detect heartbeats, interior cameras to detect movement, and alerts to notify parents if they leave someone in the car.

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A few months ago, Tesla rolled out a new feature called “Child Left Alone Detection” in the United States. It was described as:

“If an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will flash the exterior indicator lights, play an alert tone, and send a notification to your Tesla app. This will repeat at regular intervals until you return to your vehicle. Cabin data is processed locally and is not transmitted to Tesla.

This feature is enabled by default. To disable, go to Controls > Safety > Child Left Alone Detection.”

This feature was only rolled out in the U.S. at the time. It is now making its way to the European market, according to Not a Tesla App, which detected the rollout in the 2025.32.6 software update.

The rollout of this feature could specifically change many unfortunate situations. For many of us, it seems hard to think about leaving something as precious as another human life in a hot car. Many of us won’t leave our vehicles without our cell phones, so it seems unlikely that someone would do it without a child.

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Tesla gets another NHTSA probe, this time related to door handles

“Although Tesla vehicles have manual door releases inside of the cabin, in these situations, a child may not be able to access or operate the releases even if the vehicle’s driver is aware of them.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is facing another investigation into its vehicles by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this time related to an issue with its door handles.

In a new Open Investigation named “Electronic door handles become inoperative,” the NHTSA says that it has received nine complaints from owners of the 2021 Tesla Model Y stemming from “an inability to open doors.”

These issues were reported after “parents exited their vehicle after a drive cycle in order to remove a child from the pack seat or placing a child in the back seat before starting a drive cycle.” Parents said they were “unable to reopen a door to regain access to the vehicle.”

Tesla door handles become unlikely hero as they stump road rager

Four of the nine complaints ended with having to break a window to regain access to the cabin.

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The NHTSA goes on to explain that, while Teslas do have a manual door release inside the cabin, a child may not be able to access it:

“Although Tesla vehicles have manual door releases inside of the cabin, in these situations, a child may not be able to access or operate the releases even if the vehicle’s driver is aware of them. As a result, in these instances, an occupant who remains inside a vehicle in this condition may be unable to be rapidly retrieved by persons outside of the vehicle.”

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It appears that the agency is attributing the issue to a low voltage in the vehicle’s 12V DC battery. This would mean there needs to be some sort of notification to the driver that the battery is running low on power and should be replaced to avoid this issue.

The NHTSA estimates that 174,290 vehicles are potentially impacted by this issue. It plans to assess the scope and severity of the condition, the agency says. The NHTSA also wants to see what approach Tesla uses to supply power to door locks and the reliability of the applicable power supplies.

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