Fisker made headlines last week by finally delivering its first Ocean electric SUV to a customer in Denmark. The honeymoon phase was short however as that vehicle reportedly broke down just days later due to lingering software issues that may take months to fix.
The exact details of the software issues have not been publicly disclosed, but according to a new report from Bloomberg citing people familiar with the issue, Fisker still needs to perform more testing and troubleshooting after experiencing a number of glitches with the software. The problems are likely to delay the Ocean SUV even further as the sources estimated it could still take months to correct all of the issues.
To get around the issues the company is running some Ocean SUVs on more basic versions of the software that have certain limitations, like restricting the vehicle’s speed, the sources explained.
UPDATE May 10 1:30pm PT: Fisker has reached out to Drive Tesla to deny this report. According to a company spokesperson they are denying two specific claims, the first being that the vehicle is returning to Austria, saying instead it is remaining in Copenhagen. They also deny that it can be driven only at low speeds. Their statement does not deny the Ocean is experiencing software issues. Here is their full statement.
“We categorically deny that the Fisker Ocean can be driven at only low speeds. We are launching with basic ADAS software, a decision we announced last year, and that software will be updated over-the-air during the year.“
That wasn’t the case for the first customer who took delivery last week, as the sources said it is already on its way back to the factory in Austria after a software glitch rendered the EV inoperable just a few days after delivery.
It is unclear how many Oceans have been delivered, but the company has publicly disclosed two. The first was the delivery in Demark that we have already mentioned, and the second one is expected to take place this week in Germany. That delivery has an asterisks however as that Ocean SUV will be delivered to CEO Henrik Fisker, according to a press release from the company on Monday.
The software issues could be a major stumbling block for Fisker, who said last year they could produce up to 50,000 units in 2023, a number that would clear almost all of their 60,000 or so reservations. Fisker clearly has high hopes for the Ocean, also saying last year they may expand production to the US.
