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Fisker cuts production forecast as it struggles to deliver

Credit: Fisker

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Fisker held its third-quarter earnings call this week, during which the automaker cut its production forecast significantly for the year.

After Fisker delayed its Q3 earnings call from the planned date of November 8, the automaker officially held the call on Monday. During the call, Fisker said it is cutting its 2023 production forecast to 13,000-17,000 units, down from its previous goal of 20,000-23,000 units (via Automotive News). The Fisker Ocean was delivered to its first customer in May, and the California-based automaker says it has had difficulty delivering the vehicles it has produced.

“We have not been able to follow through with deliveries fast enough,” CEO Henrik Fisker said on Monday’s earnings call. “People have paid and are waiting for their cars, and some of them are getting really annoyed.”

Since Fisker doesn’t have its own manufacturing facility, it relies on its partners to produce its vehicles.

Fisker delivered a total of 1,097 Oceans in Q3, while it produced as many as 4,725 units. The company said it has delivered an additional 1,200 units in October, and it’s on pace to deliver even more in November. The automaker also plans to accelerate deliveries and production even further in the months to come, and CEO Fisker says the company is delivering in 10 countries, including the U.S. and across Europe.

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Currently, the automaker plans to add logistics partners to help catch up on deliveries from its Graz, Austria plant, which builds the Ocean under contract. The company plans to lease its own facilities and increase staff to help delivery catch up with production.

Henrik’s spouse and company CFO Geeta Fisker said the updated forecast would give the company more time to scale its logistical platform, in order to aid the delivery catch-up.

“This is a very prudent change that we need to do to enable our global delivery and logistics platform to scale so we can serve our customers even better and we are not sitting on inventory,” Geeta Fisker. “It may be not be something Wall Street wants to hear.”

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Last month, Fisker cut the price of the high-end Ocean Extreme to $61,499 in North America from its previous price of $68,999, and it increased lower-priced variants, both of which the company said were to address “competitive realities in the rapidly growing EV market.”

After the Ocean, Fisker plans to launch two EVs, an affordable crossover, dubbed the Pear, along with a mid-size electric pickup, called the Alaska. The Pear is expected to start at a price of $29,900 and will be produced at an upcoming factory in Ohio.

“We have two cars that are almost ready. We can bring them to market fast — we just need the capacity,” Fisker told Reuters last week in Germany.

Fisker plans to offer “frequent” OTA updates to customers

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Tesla adds new surprising fee to Robotaxi program

“Additional cleaning was required for the vehicle after your trip. A fee has been added to your final cost to cover this service. Please contact us if you have any questions.”

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Credit: Grok

Tesla has added a new and somewhat surprising fee to the Robotaxi program. It’s only surprising because it was never there before.

Tesla shocked everyone when it launched its Robotaxi platform and offered riders the opportunity to tip, only to tell them they do not accept tips. It was one of the company’s attempts at being humorous as it rolled out its driverless platform to people in Austin.

As it has expanded to new cities and been opened to more people, as it was yesterday to iOS users, Tesla has had to tweak some of the minor details of the Robotaxi and ride-hailing platforms it operates.

First Look at Tesla’s Robotaxi App: features, design, and more

With more riders, more vehicles, and more operational jurisdictions, the company has to adjust as things become busier.

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Now, it is adjusting the platform by adding “Cleaning Fees” to the Robotaxi platform, but it seems it is only charged if the vehicle requires some additional attention after your ride.

The app will communicate with the rider with the following message (via Not a Tesla App):

“Additional cleaning was required for the vehicle after your trip. A fee has been added to your final cost to cover this service. Please contact us if you have any questions.”

The cost of the cleaning will likely depend on how severe the mess is. If you spill a soda, it will likely cost less than if you lose your lunch in the back of the car because you had a few too many drinks.

This is an expected change, and it seems to be one that is needed, especially considering Tesla is operating a small-scale ride-hailing service at the current time. As it expands to more states and cities and eventually is available everywhere, there will be more situations that will arise.

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The messes in vehicles are not a new situation, especially in a rideshare setting. It will be interesting to see if Tesla will enable other fees, like ones for riders who request a ride and do not show up for it.

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Tesla Model Y sold out in China for 2025

Customers who wish to get their cars by the end of the year would likely need to get an inventory unit.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

It appears that the Model Y has been sold out for 2025 in China. This seems to be true for the four variants of the vehicle that are currently offered in the country. 

Tesla China’s order page update

A look at Tesla China’s order page for the Model Y shows a message informing customers that those who wish to guarantee delivery by the end of the year should purchase an inventory unit. This was despite the Model Y RWD and Model Y L showing an estimated delivery timeline of 4-8 weeks, and the Model Y Long Range RWD and Model Y Long Range AWD showing 4-13 weeks. 

As per industry watchers, these updates on the Model Y’s order page suggest that Tesla China’s sales capacity for the remainder of 2025 has been sold out. The fact that estimated delivery timeframes for the Model Y Long Range RWD and AWD extend up to 13 weeks also bodes well for demand for the vehicle, especially given strong rivals like the Xiaomi YU7, which undercuts the Model Y in price. 

Tesla China’s upcoming big updates

What is quite interesting is that Tesla China is still competing in the country with one hand partly tied behind its back. So far, Tesla has only been able to secure partial approval for its flagship self-driving software, FSD, in China. This has resulted in V14 not being rolled out to the country yet. Despite this, Tesla China’s “Autopilot automatic assisted driving on urban roads,” as the system is called locally, has earned positive reviews from users.

As per Elon Musk during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, however, Tesla is expecting to secure full approval for FSD in China in early 2026. “We have partial approval in China, and we hopefully will have full approval in China around February or March or so. That’s what they’ve told us,” Musk said.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving appears to be heading to Europe soon

For years, Musk has said the process for gaining approval in Europe would take significantly more time than it does in the United States. Back in 2019, he predicted it would take six to twelve months to gain approval for Europe, but it has taken much longer.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving appears to be heading to Europe soon, especially as the company has continued to expand its testing phases across the continent.

It appears that the effort is getting even bigger, as the company recently posted a job for a Vehicle Operator in Prague, Czech Republic.

This would be the third country the company is seeking a Vehicle Operator in for the European market, joining Germany and Hungary, which already have job postings in Berlin, Prüm, and Budapest, respectively.

This position specifically targets the Engineering and Information Technology departments at Tesla, and not the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence job category that relates to Robotaxi job postings.

Although there has been a posting for Robotaxi Operators in the Eastern Hemisphere, more specifically, Israel, this specific posting has to do with data collection, likely to bolster the company’s position in Europe with FSD.

The job description says:

“We are seeking a highly motivated employee to strengthen our team responsible for vehicle data collection. The Driver/Vehicle Operator position is tasked with capturing high-quality data that contributes to improving our vehicles’ performance. This role requires self-initiative, flexibility, attention to detail, and the ability to work in a dynamic environment.”

It also notes the job is for a fixed term of one year.

The position requires operation of a vehicle for data collection within a defined area, and requires the Vehicle Operator to provide feedback to improve data collection processes, analyze and report collected data, and create daily driving reports.

The posting also solidifies the company’s intention to bring its Full Self-Driving platform to Europe in the coming months, something it has worked tirelessly to achieve as it spars with local regulators.

For years, Musk has said the process for gaining approval in Europe would take significantly more time than it does in the United States. Back in 2019, he predicted it would take six to twelve months to gain approval for Europe, but it has taken much longer.

This year, Musk went on to say that the process of getting FSD to move forward has been “very frustrating,” and said it “hurts the safety of the people of Europe.”

Elon Musk clarifies the holdup with Tesla Full Self-Driving launch in Europe

The latest update Musk gave us was in July, when he said that Tesla was awaiting regulatory approval.

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