Tweet From Fisker Shocks Auto World

Let’s start this one with a brief history lesson. The American carmaker Fisker Automotive, which landed itself in the EV (electric vehicle) world in 2007, is no more. That brand has broken down into two separate entities - Fisker Incorporation and Karma Automotive. While the latter is owned by a Chinese company, Wanxiang Group, and took the rights to build the Fisker Karma automobile (now Karma Revero), the former is being run by CEO and MD Henrik Fisker and is based out of Los Angeles, California.

Now that we’ve cleared the air, the American entrepreneur recently tweeted about something that shocked the automotive world. During the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, Fisker Inc.’s head honcho tweeted an image of a concept vehicle called Fisker Orbit. It is designed to be an autonomous shuttle for connected “smart cities,” that Fisker claims could roll off the production line as soon as October 2018.

No technical information about the concept was revealed, and from what we can see from the single image the Orbit concept looks like a glorified miniature bus. To work as a shuttle then, it should fit in quite well. But the shocking part is that no other automaker or tech giant anywhere in the world is ready to deploy autonomous technology for the masses that quickly. But Fisker says that the first deliveries for the Orbit begin in October next year. How has it managed that?

The only way we can answer that question is when Fisker reveals what tech powers the people carrier. Companies like Tesla, Google, Apple, GM, Audi and Volvo have been testing their autonomous vehicles for a while now. But none amongst the heavyweights in the auto world have announced a launch date as of now. Is Fisker ready to hit the ground running with self-driving cars as it did for electrified ones? Well, October 2018 is less than a year away!

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