The Complete Idiot's Guide to Electric Car Companies, Fox News Edition

Bill O'Reilly, are you listening? Sarah Palin, this is for you, too. Lou Dobbs, gather 'round. Mitt Romney, you might as well lend an ear as well. Companies can be very confusing. All those names and numbers—whew. And to make matters worse, sometimes there are two companies that have different names, yet they are involved in the same exact industry. It's enough to make your head spin. But not to worry. I'm here to help. There is a company called Fisker that makes electric cars, and it is doing very poorly. Last week it laid off 75 percent of its employees, and it appears to be headed for bankruptcy. If that happens, the government might lose a lot of the money it loaned to that company a few years back as part of a program to encourage the development of alternative-energy vehicles. Again, that company is called Fisker. But wouldn't you know it, there is a second company called Tesla that also makes electric cars. Different name, same industry. But—and this is where it gets a little complicated—Tesla is not doing very poorly. It did not lay off 75 percent of its employees. It is not behind on repayment of its loans. In fact, it is repaying them ahead of schedule. This company just celebrated its first quarterly profit, its stock has been soaring, and its latest model is the reigning Motor Trend Car of the Year. Once more, this company's name is Tesla. 

Let's recap. Fisker: loser. Tesla: not a loser. 

By Will Oremus /continue reading