Cristian Fleming paid around $70,000 for his dream car, a Fisker Ocean. He was drawn to the new EV’s 350-mile range, eco-friendly image, and quirky features like “California Modes,” which rolls down nearly every window at once.
“I’ve always bought my cars because I love the way they look,” Fleming says. “That’s probably my first mistake.”
But his joy soon turned sour. In June 2024, seven months after Fleming’s purchase, Fisker collapsed into bankruptcy, having only delivered 11,000 vehicles.
Early adopters were left with cars plagued by battery failures, glitchy software, inconsistent key fobs, and door handles that did not always open. With the company gone, there was no way to fix any issues. Regulators logged dozens of complaints as replacement parts vanished. Passionate owners who spent top dollar on high-end trims saw their cars reduced to expensive driveway ornaments.
Rather than accept defeat, thousands of Ocean owners have organized into their own makeshift car company. The Fisker Owners Association (FOA) is a nonprofit that’s launched third-party apps, built a global parts supply chain, and came together around a future for their orphaned vehicles. It’s part car club, part tech startup, part survival mission. Fleming now serves as the organization’s president.
”Everyone who has an Ocean loves it,” says Clint Bagley, an early adopter in California’s Bay Area and FOA’s treasurer. “Until the key fob stops working again and you can’t get into it.”
A grassroots effort
FOA calls itself the first entirely owner-controlled EV fleet in history. So far, 4,055 Ocean owners have signed up, paying $550 a year in dues that the group estimates will raise around $3 million annually, about 0.1 percent of Fisker’s peak valuation. Only verified Ocean owners can become full members, but anyone can donate.
The grassroots effort has precedent — DeLorean diehards and Saab enthusiasts have kept their favorite brands alive after factory closures. But those efforts focused on preserving aging vehicles. FOA is attempting something different: real-time software updates and hardware improvements for a connected, two-year-old EV fleet.
“I’ve been a car nerd my whole life, so to be in the position we are in now – with the ability to have input into the future direction of the car I love driving every day – is a unique experience,” says Andrew Bock, an FOA member.
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