Fisker Karma — Justin Bieber’s 18th Birthday Present (VIDEO)

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Justin Bieber got a $100,000 plug-in hybrid with a solar panel roof, the Fisker Karma, for his 18th birthday. I imagine most of our readers don’t listen to Bieber’s music, but I thought this news might be a bit of an item of interest for you. And it’s Friday, after all, so why not have a little more fun?

Justin Bieber's new electric car, as presented on Ellen.
Justin Bieber’s new electric car, as presented on Ellen.

If you’re interested in the birthday details, Scott Braun, Bieber’s manager, surprised Bieber with the car on Ellen (the Ellen Degeneres Show) yesterday.

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“We wanted to make sure, since you love cars, that when you’re on the road you are always looking environmentally friendly,” Braun said as DeGeneres stood on the side and smiled large.

“And we decided to get you a car that would make you stand out. I think you know where I’m going, and you’re kind of freaking out right now. That’s a Fisker Karma.”

Bieber looked pretty surprised, as you can see in this video:

The Fisker Karma is a bit contentious in the green car scene. On the one hand, it is a plug-in hybrid, and it’s got a super sexy design, even its critics will note. However, the car only gets about 30-50 miles on electricity alone.

Chris DeMorro of sister site Gas2 thinks a lot more government support should be going towards Tesla Motors’ cars than Fisker Automotive’s. Basically, he recently called for the DOE to drop its support for Fisker and shift it over to Tesla.

“If anything, Obama needs to cut off Fisker’s funding and double down on Tesla. I know that sounds harsh, but so far Tesla is the only company with the means to build electric cars with the range and performance of conventional gas-powered cars.”

Chris was a lot more into the Karma back in March 2011. At that time, he wrote: “It seems like its been a decade since Fisker first introduced the world to its super-sexy plug-in hybrid, the Karma (though it’s only just over three years). Finally though, the first Karma is complete, with more to come…. This has been a long time coming, and the Karma is at the top of the list of cars-I’d-give-up-beer-but-not-bacon-for. Never giving up bacon (and there’s always whiskey!)”

But Fisker has run into a number of problems that, he thinks, show it’s not as worthy of support as Tesla.

What are you thoughts? (And what are your thoughts on Justin Bieber getting the car and what that could do for broader public appeal, if you have any?) I have to say, I’m not an expert on Fisker or Bieber.

h/t LA Times


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Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

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