Owners of EVs whose manufacturers went bankrupt independently analyzed the software and built an open-source tool.

Modern cars are equipped with sophisticated software, but if the manufacturer goes bankrupt, there is a risk that software updates and services will no longer be provided, rendering the car useless. According to the EV news site Electrek, owners of electric vehicles (EVs) from Fisker , an EV manufacturer that went bankrupt in 2024, have established a non-profit organization to maintain their Fisker vehicles themselves and are reverse-engineering the software to build open-source tools.

Fisker went bankrupt and owners built open source car company from the ashes | Electrek
https://electrek.co/2026/05/16/fisker-ocean-open-source-ev-story-after-bankruptcy/

Fisker is an EV manufacturer founded in 2016, and in 2022, it began selling its first EV , the Fisker Ocean . The Fisker Ocean has almost all of its systems built on software, including brakes, airbags, gear shifting, battery management, and door locks, and was once considered a rival to Tesla.

However, Fisker Ocean's software had numerous flaws. In February 2024, it was heavily criticized by a popular gadget review YouTuber, and the situation escalated when it was revealed that Fisker Ocean had made aggressive phone calls to the dealership that had lent him the car in an attempt to quell the criticism. With no prospect of securing funding, the company filed for bankruptcy in June of the same year.

EV startup 'Fisker' files for bankruptcy, legendary car designer suffers second setback - GIGAZINE

by Werner Bayer

The owners of the approximately 11,000 Fisker Ocean vehicles that had already been delivered are among those affected by Fisker's bankruptcy. Much of the software installed in the Fisker Ocean required periodic connections to Fisker's cloud servers for diagnostics and normal operation. However, because Fisker's servers went down due to the bankruptcy, not only did the Fisker Ocean's in-car infotainment system become unusable, but even functions crucial to the vehicle's operation became unavailable.

In response, Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin commented, 'The automotive industry needs more open source. It's truly unfortunate that the idea that 'if the manufacturer disappears, the car is no longer usable' has become so commonplace.'

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

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 9, 2024

However, Fisker Ocean owners did not simply accept their losses after the manufacturer went bankrupt. Within months of Fisker's bankruptcy, thousands of owners formed a non-profit organization called the Fisker Owners Association (FOA) and hired independent technical experts to begin reverse engineering Fisker's proprietary software patches.

FOA members teach each other how to rewrite firmware and keep parts costs down by purchasing replacement parts in bulk. In Europe, they have also established a mobile repair network where highly skilled members travel around to assist other owners with vehicle repairs.

Furthermore, FOA engages in a wide range of activities, including lobbying U.S. regulators to include recalls in vehicle manufacturers' bankruptcy proceedings, securing parts procurement routes through companies, and urging insurance companies to continue providing insurance coverage for vehicles that no longer have a manufacturer.

FOA is also contributing to the open-sourcing of software, something that has been lacking in the automotive industry until now. On GitHub, they have released features such as the ability to integrate the official Fisker mobile app with Home Assistant , and Fisker Ocean files for the CAN bus used by in-vehicle software communication. In addition, some members have written explanations on how to intercept CAN traffic on Fisker Ocean and decode diagnostic trouble codes .

In recent years, competition among EV manufacturers has intensified, with Nikola, which also manufactured EV trucks in addition to Fisker, filing for bankruptcy , and several other companies proceeding with liquidation. Consumer groups are calling for mandatory funds to ensure that in-car software continues to function even if a manufacturer goes bankrupt, and for manufacturers to open-source their software when they fail. Furthermore, 11 European companies, including Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop open-source in-car software by 2025, indicating that some industry giants are also moving towards open source.