By Michael Elkins
American electric vehicle maker, Fisker (NYSE:FSR) has pushed back against a recent report by short seller, Fuzzy Panda Research, that claims the EV company didn’t disclose limits on its cash balance.
The report by Fuzzy Panda claims that a “vast majority” of the $825 million in cash Fisker reported at the end of the third quarter is tied up in undisclosed bank guarantees to protect Magna Steyr. Magna Steyr is the contractor building the vehicles for Fisker. The report cited unnamed former employees.
The short seller estimates that Magna Steyr has been promised at least $790 million to ensure payment for tooling, manufacturing costs and margins.
Fisker called the claims untrue, saying in a statement that “Magna does not have a bank guarantee.”
Fisker, which said it had issued a cease-and-desist letter to the short seller, also rejected another allegation in the report that it does not have the intellectual property for the Ocean SUV.
Founder and CEO Henrik Fisker previously told employees that the report was “largely misleading.” In an internal email, he told employees not to engage with social media posts about the matter.
Fuzzy Panda previously published reports about Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc. (OTC:ELMSQ), which filed for bankruptcy in June, and Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ:WKHS), which is set to close in February 2021.
Shares of Fisker fell 5.4% on Thursday. The stock is down 1.64% in pre-market trading on Friday.