FLASHBACK>>Gore-Backed Car Firm Gets Large U.S. Loan (FiskerGate)

WASHINGTON -- A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has just gotten a $529 million U.S. government loan to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000.

The award this week to California startup Fisker Automotive Inc. follows a $465 million government loan to Tesla Motors Inc., purveyors of a $109,000 British-built electric Roadster. Tesla is a California startup focusing on all-electric vehicles, with a number of celebrity endorsements that is backed by investors that have contributed to Democratic campaigns

The awards to Fisker and Tesla have prompted concern from companies that have had their bids for loans rejected, and criticism from groups that question why vehicles aimed at the wealthiest customers are getting loans subsidized by taxpayers.

"This is not for average Americans," said Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, an anti-tax group in Washington. "This is for people to put something in their driveway that is a conversation piece. It's status symbol thing."

DOE officials spent months working with Fisker on its application, touring its Irvine, Calif., and Pontiac, Mich., facilities and test-driving prototypes.

Matt Rogers, who oversees the department's loan programs as a senior adviser to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, said Fisker was awarded the loan after a "detailed technical review" that concluded the company could eventually deliver a highly fuel-efficient hybrid car to a mass audience. Fisker said most of its DOE loan will be used to finance U.S. production of a $40,000 family sedan that has yet to be designed.

More crony capitalism about to blow up in Obama's face. This story will be worse than Solyndra imho, because the cars are being made in FINLAND, they cost $100k apiece so they are only for the very rcih, Al gore was behind this venture, the gov't is giving a $7500 tax credit for the rich to buy this toy, and MOST OF ALL, the damn thing does not get any better milage than an SUV!!

Can Tesla become a bigger company with Model S electric car? That’s Elon Musk’s [founded PayPal] gamble

CLIP

Tesla acquired the NUMMI plant from Toyota for $42 million, plus $17 million for assembly machinery left lying around. Toyota subsequently invested $50 million in Tesla in exchange for stock, meaning Tesla basically got the plant and machinery for just $9 million.

Next, Tesla bought a $50 million Schuler SMG hydraulic stamping press—the largest in North America, Musk says—from a troubled Tier 1 supplier in Detroit for $6 million, including shipping costs.

Gilbert Passin, the Tesla manufacturing chief who once ran the Cambridge, Ontario, plant that builds the Lexus RX 350, describes Tesla’s string of moves as “happily scavenging” from companies on the ropes.

Back in July ‘10 the NYT wrote Musk was cash-poor and paper- rich. Mr. Musk was in the middle of a divorce at the time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/business/22sorkin.html

Fisker Automotive is noted for its outsource business model, which retains core competencies in-house but heavily leverages the resources of suppliers, with substantial savings resulting. [5] These savings have allowed Fisker to compete with similarly priced models such as the Porsche Panamera hybrid, BMW 7 Series ActiveHybird, and Maserati Quattroporte. Fisker’s outsourcing methods have allowed the company in a 2–3 year period of development instead of the typical 5 years and at a cost of $333 million instead of $1 billion.[5]

However a requirement of the government loan is that some of the money be spent building or renovating a manufacturing facility in the US, in order to ensure manufacturing jobs are not shipped overseas. Fisker fulfilled its obligation by purchasing GM’s former Wilmington Assembly plant in Delaware for $20 million, and plans to start production of its next generation Electric Vehicles with extended range there in late 2012. The company expects to create more than 2,000 jobs there. Building a new plant would have cost well over $1B.

Tesla Motors filed a lawsuit against Fisker Automotive, alleging they stole Tesla’s technology and are using it to develop their own hybrid car, the Fisker Karma, which was announced at the North American International Auto Show in January 2008. Tesla’s suit claims that the design work done for the Model S by Fisker Coachbuild was substandard, and that Fisker diverted its best ideas to the Karma. [10]

In early 2009 the suit was settled in Fisker’s favor and Tesla was ordered to pay Fisker’s more than $1.1 million in legal fees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisker_Automotive

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