Fisker just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a brutal year of production cuts, safety recalls, and cash crunches. The EV startup’s Ocean SUV, launched in 2023, was plagued by software glitches, brake failures, and even doors that wouldn’t open. Production stalled, sales tanked, and multiple federal investigations hit the company.
The downfall kicked off with missing Q2 2023 targets and led to layoffs starting in early 2024. Fisker struggled to sell even a fraction of its 300 daily goal and faced four federal probes, including complaints about rollaways, power loss, and spontaneous emergency braking.
By March 2024, Fisker paused Ocean production with just $121 million cash and mounting $182 million liabilities. Negotiations with Nissan ended abruptly, and Fisker’s stock was suspended by NYSE for abnormally low prices. Internal chaos hit when Fisker lost track of millions in customer payments. 
Layoffs continued through May, cutting hundreds of jobs, leaving around 150 employees. Fisker stopped paying engineers for its upcoming Pear and Alaska models and couldn’t resolve recalls fast enough. By June, the company recalled Ocean SUVs for faulty warning lights and formally filed for bankruptcy.
The Chapter 11 filing shows $500 million to $1 billion in assets but huge liabilities. Fisker’s CEO Henrik Fisker and COO Geeta Gupta-Fisker cut their salaries to $1 in July to keep bankruptcy proceedings funded.
Here’s Fisker’s quick bankruptcy timeline since filing:
- July 3: Asked bankruptcy court to sell 3,231 Ocean SUVs for $46.25 million, about $14K each.
- July 15: U.S. Trustee objects to deal keeping Fisker afloat amid creditor payout plans.
- July 16: Judge approves the $46.25 million Ocean SUV sale to leasing company American Lease.
- September 18: Fisker reverses course on recall costs, agreeing to cover labor fees after initially passing them to owners.
- October 4: SEC opens investigation into Fisker, issuing subpoenas over potential securities violations.
- October 5: Fisker’s abandoned HQ found in “complete disarray” with hazardous waste and leftover prototypes.
- October 7: DOJ calls Fisker’s recall repair plan illegal under NHTSA complaint.
- October 8: American Lease warns it may not complete the vehicle sale due to data transfer issues.
- October 16: Fisker’s liquidation plan confirmed by bankruptcy court; trustee appointed for asset sales including $1 billion in Austrian equipment.
Meanwhile, Fisker’s nonprofit founded in 2021 quietly shut down in 2025 after only granting about $100,000 since launch.
The next step: whether Fisker’s lender, Heights Capital Management, secures priority in liquidation or if Fisker slides into Chapter 7 and disappears for good.
Henrik Fisker’s EV startup never got ready to be a car company. The Ocean’s issues, cash problems, botched deals, and management missteps ended it. Now Fisker’s assets are up for grabs as the company limps through bankruptcy.
