Fisker Death Watch? Not yet, but...

Is Fisker on the way out?  Not yet, if I had to make a guess, I would say they have enough vehicles in the pipeline and enough private investors to last a while.  But cracks are showing.

Should the Department of Energy fund Fisker?  No, not unless Fisker can keep its side of the existing agreement.  The government should not re-negotiate with Fisker unless significant private backing is shown.

The Karma is a beautiful vehicle and appears to be an excellent piece of engineering.  It is also a toy for the wealthy, and a distraction.  Fisker isn't doing basic battery research, unlike the established OEMs, who have in-house science labs working on problems such as battery chemistry, thermal management, and safety. 

As lovely as the Karma is, it was a potential waste of taxpayer money to fund it. 

Department of Energy funds should be going to companies doing basic R&D on batteries, and to established OEMs who already know how to build a good car, and can target more affordable implementations.  Ford and GM, for examle, can take $500,000,000 pretty far because of their existing R&D infrastructure.

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