The past week hasn’t been the kindest to the electric vehicle industry. Now, it’s capped off with news that the EV startup Fisker is the subject of an investigation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
TechCrunch reported that SEC officials sent several subpoenas to Fisker. The filing doesn’t specifically say what the subpoenas are asking for or looking into but it’s clear that the SEC has launched an investigation into the floundering EV maker that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June.
Fisker has been struggling to keep its head above water ever since last year’s disastrous rollout of its Ocean SUV that failed to score more than a few thousands sellers even though it produced well over 10,000 units. Following its Q4 earnings report last year that saw a gross margin loss of 35 percent, the car maker announced it would lay off 15 percent of its workforce the following March as it shifted to a direct-to-consumer sales strategy.
A Fisker spokesperson declined to comment on the matter to TechCrunch saying they could not “comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation.”
Fisker isn’t the only EV maker to suffer a noticeable setback. Tesla saw a major stumble with the fifth recall of its beleaguered Cybertruck.