Henrik Fisker, the head of Fisker, Inc., has been a busy person. During 2020 he shopped his all-electric premium SUV around until he found a suitable partner to build. During that time, he also teased that there would be additional vehicles coming to the Fisker lineup. Then, just a little over a week ago, he announced on Twitter that he has COVID. But, that has not slowed him down. Instead, he took some time during the holiday festivities to get better and create a teaser image of an upcoming addition to the lineup, a pickup. 

A Fisker electric pickup by 2025

Back in July, I covered how Mr. Fisker has ambitious plans. He wants his company to launch a total of four new models by 2025. Of those four models, the Ocean SUV will be the first, while a pickup truck will be the last. Yet, in a Twitter post on day seven of his COVID recovery, he posted a teaser image of the still-unnamed Fisker pickup truck. 

That is not all. In the Twitter post Mr. Fisker goes on to promise that the final pickup truck will be the lightest, most efficient, most sustainable EV pickup in the world, and the design will be… “way more radical.” Well, why not? Tesla can’t have all the radical pickup glory alone, can it?

Why now? Mr. Fisker is recovering from COVID. Yet, he still thinks an electric pickup is important enough to announce now. Why? The answer is simple.

Strike while the fire is hot

Striking while the fire is hot is important when attempting to divide and conquer parts of any market. The reality is that right now the automotive market is all abuzz with discussions of various electric pickups that are set to hit the market within the next 24 months. Tesla has the Cybertruck. GM has scheduled the return of Hummer. Ford will offer an F-150 that will be full electric as well. Lordstown and other, smaller, new players have expressed their own interest in entering the electric pickup market as well. 

Since the buzz is already there for electric pickups, Fisker is throwing out his own volley into the electrification pool. Developing that buzz on his own would take a whole lot of marketing dollars. If he announces his electric pickup offering while everybody is already talking about the subject, then he is effectively making his company relevant in the discussion with a lot less effort, even if it is years ahead of a proper launch. 

Elon Musk had to create buzz where there was no buzz. Years before the Tesla Cybertruck concept hit the stage, he made headlines talking about the potential for a futuristic design. As people began to show some interest he would tease things about the Cybertruck, until finally, the truck rolled up on stage. This caused a larger discussion about electric pickups as a whole from all manufacturers. In a sense, Mr. Musk trailblazed for everybody else, including Mr. Fisker. 

The original 2025 Fisker vision

2025 is four years away. Given that manufacturers are generally planning production out five years ahead, the timing is right for Mr. Fisker to be working on the pickup. So, working on a project this far out is not unusual. What is unusual is to see teasers this early in the process. That usually does not happen until a year or two before the reveal. But, the fire is hot now for electric pickups. So, to pique people’s interest and to make sure Fisker, Inc. remains relevant, the teaser was released on Mr. Fisker’s Twitter account. 

The original vision was for four Fisker electric vehicles by 2025. While most vehicles undergo very secretive processes for years before being exposed, the time is right to tease the pickup now. The Cybertruck and Hummer have stirred the imaginations for years prior to their reveals. The Fisker pickup can do the same, especially if consumers are already geared to talk about electric pickups.