Venture capital investing is never for the faint of heart, it's often really more about gambling than actual investing, especially for early rounds.
The risks inherent in this sort of investing in the technology field are multiplied by several orders of magnitude when you are getting mixed up with a startup in the auto industry.
Building cars in any significant volume is one of most capital intensive business in the world. And that's after you've spent hundreds of millions of dollars just to develop a product.
One of the standard bits of boiler plate in any investment prospective is something to the effect that "past performance is no guarantee of future success."
In the car business it should probably be something along the lines of "past performance of other automakers means that this venture will more than likely fail." Thousands of auto brands have come and gone over the last 125 years, and anyone putting money into a startup with big performance promises based on amazing new technology should probably be prepared up front to say goodbye to their cash.
#venturecapital #fiskerkarma #fiskerautomotive
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Irate Investor Sues Fisker: A Little Lesson In Venture Capital
This is the week when driving impressions of the 2012 Fisker Karma have started to appear, as Fisker invites in waves of automotive journalists for a half-day of driving in and around Los Angeles. (We…
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I wish Tesla and Fisker would team up and play nice. If they would work together, I imagine they could actually come up with some awesome things and keep investors happy at both companies.
+Melina M I'm not sure how much you know about the history of Tesla and Fisker, but it's not gonna happen.
http://green.autoblog.com/2008/04/14/rumormill-fisker-designed-teslas-upcoming-whitestar-sedan/
http://green.autoblog.com/2008/04/15/breaking-tesla-sues-fisker-over-electric-car-design/
Way back in 2007, Tesla hired Henrik Fisker to design what was then code-named WhiteStar and eventually became the Model S. Tesla was apparently not pleased with the results and dismissed Fisker. The designer then rounded up his own backers (some of whom had been early investors in Tesla alongside Elon Musk) and started his own eponymous car company.
Needless to say legal wrangling ensued and it seems highly improbable that the two companies will ever cooperate on anything.
Yeah, which is why I know the idea of them playing nice is only wishful thinking. Reminds me of Ferrari and Lamborghini a little, actually.
Maybe if someone came in and purchased both…or one taking the other over. There would be losses on both sides, but I think a stronger company would emerge.
+Charles Burney I think that will eventually happen to Tesla. While the company has struggled commercially, it has built a brand and some IP over the past 5 years that has some serious value.
Unfortunately, I don't think Fisker has either the IP or brand to draw a buyer. Henrik Fisker will head back to the design studio in time.
I think if Fisker can survive the current lack of funding, they have a real shot. They've developed and delivered their own platform, minus engine, which in my opinion puts them a bit ahead of Tesla. I could see someone like GM trying to acquire them. Maybe one of the Europeans like Fiat or VW.