Fisker had grand plans to become the next Tesla. The electric vehicle startup touted an Apple-like business model that would allow it to outsource manufacturing while focusing on technology and design. And Fisker actually got its debut vehicle—the sleek, Range Rover-esque Ocean SUV—out to thousands of paying customers, something many EV upstarts die trying to do.
Given the scarcity of parts, scavenging components from donor cars was commonplace, several sources said. Fisker denies that this has ever happened. Two former Fisker technicians who helped prepare vehicles for delivery said they would regularly take parts off of donor Oceans for use in customer cars. One, who helped prep Oceans when they came off cargo ships, said his group would set aside one SUV of each color to use for parts like glass roofs, door handles, body panels and window regulators.