Owners of bankrupt electric vehicle maker Fisker are reverse-engineering vehicle software and developing open-source tools to keep their cars running. With the manufacturer gone, it has become difficult to maintain vehicle functions, and owner communities are effectively building their own technical support system.

Online outlet Gigazine reported on May 18 that owners of Fisker’s flagship electric vehicle, the Fisker Ocean, set up a nonprofit group called the Fisker Owners Association and began a coordinated response to maintain and repair their vehicles after Fisker filed for bankruptcy in 2024.

Fisker is an electric vehicle startup founded in 2016. It began selling its first electric SUV, the Fisker Ocean, in 2022. The vehicle was designed so most major functions, including brakes and airbags, shifting controls, battery management and door locks, operate on software. It was once seen as a rival to Tesla, but after frequent software defects and funding difficulties it entered bankruptcy proceedings in June 2024.

The problem was the vehicles already sold. About 11,000 Fisker Oceans relied heavily on the manufacturer’s cloud servers for diagnostics and maintaining functions. After the company went bankrupt, server operations stopped, and not only the infotainment system but some core functions also began to be affected. The risk that a vehicle could become difficult to operate normally if the manufacturer disappears has become reality.

In response, an X user (@VitalikButerin) said the auto industry needs more open-source architecture. He said it was sad that the idea that “if the manufacturer disappears, the car is useless now” had seemingly quickly become the default.

Owners then began hiring independent technical experts to reverse-engineer Fisker-specific software patches. Members are sharing firmware rewriting methods and repair know-how, and they are also trying to cut maintenance costs through joint purchases of parts. In Europe, members with technical capabilities are running a mobile network that travels from region to region to help repair other owners’ vehicles.

Open-source work is also expanding. Developers have released, via GitHub, a function that links Fisker’s official mobile app to Home Assistant, as well as vehicle CAN bus files. Some members are also sharing methods to analyze in-vehicle CAN traffic and decode diagnostic trouble codes.

The community’s response is also leading to calls for regulatory changes. The Fisker Owners Association is urging U.S. regulators to include recall response obligations when a manufacturer goes bankrupt, and it is in talks with insurers so vehicles without a manufacturer can keep insurance coverage.

The case is spreading as a structural issue across the electric vehicle industry. With competition in the electric vehicle market intensifying, some companies including Nikola Corporation have entered bankruptcy proceedings. Consumer groups are arguing that, when a manufacturer goes bankrupt, vehicle software should be made open source or maintenance funds should be mandated.

Separately, 11 European automakers, including Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, signed a memorandum of understanding in 2025 to jointly develop open-source software for vehicles. The industry is raising the possibility that the case could go beyond an owner community’s self-help measures and lead to calls for a structure that can maintain vehicle functions regardless of whether a manufacturer survives.

We really need much more open source in the auto industry. Really sad that "if the manufacturer disappears, the car is useless now" has seemingly so quickly become a default. https://t.co/JF5wus1cPg