Fisker Inc

Fisker Inc was an electric car startup founded in 2016 by successful car designer Henrik Fisker. Henrik’s previous venture in 2007, Fisker Automotive (notice it also bears his name), had flopped miserably. Determined to have his name on a luxury car, Fisker launched the visually stunning Ocean SUV, a supposed Tesla rival. Spoiler: it wasn’t. Henrik’s wife was CFO and COO of Fisker, and made important decisions in logistics, software strategy, quality control and production, despite having no relevant experience. In fact, no experienced auto or auto supplier executives were on the board. In general, Fisker Inc was an unorganized company, at one point even losing track of $16 million in customer payments. The few cars that reached customers faced harsh criticism, and issues like doors not opening put the Ocean SUV under federal traffic security investigations. In 2024 Fisker filed for bankruptcy. 

Additional info:

Los Angeles Times - Judge approves Fisker bankruptcy plan favored by car owners

Drive - Why did EV startup Fisker fail again and again?

The Crunch - Fisker failed because it wasn’t ready to be a car company