Fisker co-founder, Henrik Fisker, walks away from Fisker Automotive

By Nick Jaynes March 13, 2013

Fisker Karmas on parade — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The captain has jumped overboard, refusing to go down with the ship.

Fisker co-founder and the man who lent his name to the brand, Henrik Fisker, resigned from Fisker Automotive this morning effective as of Wednesday 13 March 2013.

“The main reasons for his resignation are several major disagreements that Henrik Fisker has with the Fisker Automotive executive management on the business strategy,” Fisker said speaking in third person in a statement sent to Autocar.

Fisker has faced blow after low blow. The electric carmaker’s first model, the Karma, was forced into recall due to fire risk. Further production of the Karma was halted last July, as was the production of the brand’s second model, the Atlantic, after Fisker’s battery supplier A123 systems went belly up. Adding insult to injury, Fisker lost over 300 unsold Karmas to Hurricane Sandy, a loss valued at $33 million.

As recently as March 12, Fisker had leveled accusations against defunct A123, saying the battery supplier had under-reported its debt levels, according to a Reuters report.

Apparently Henrik Fisker had enough. Even though Chinese conglomerate Geely, the company that bought Volvo from Ford a few years ago, had shown interest in a buyout, Fisker couldn’t wait out the storm.

What will become of the troubled electric car start-up? At this point, it wouldn’t surprise us one bit if Fisker went the way of the buffalo and disappeared in a sea of overdue Federal loan payments and seawater-soaked Karmas.

We’re disappointed with the actions of Henrik Fisker. Even if it is literally on fire, a captain should go down with his ship, especially if he had the audacity to name it after himself.

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