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Weekly Recap: The divergent paths of Tesla and Fisker

There's no doubt that Tesla is downshifting while Fisker has been grinding its gears. But it wasn't always that way.
In the wake of Tesla's recent success, it's easy to forget that there were once two California electric carmakers with bright futures.

Audi planning A7 powered by fuel cell?

Back in March, Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn voiced his doubts about the cost and infrastructure associated with building hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but according to Autocar, that isn't stopping Audi from developing a fuel-cell version of the Audi A7. While we're inclined to take this report with a grain of salt, this wouldn't be the first time a VW executive has made seemingly damning statements about electric powertrains that later proved to be incorrect.
After speaking with Audi technical chief Wolfgang Dürheimer, Autocar reports that Audi is building a fuel cell A7 that is expected to be ready for testing by August. Like the electric E-Tron and natural-gas-powered G-Tron models, the hydrogen fuel cell Audis could, if produced, carry their own "tron" nomenclature.

Daimler, BMW, Audi consortium nabs Nokia maps for $2.72B

A consortium of German automakers made up of Daimler, BMW, and Audi has reportedly banded together to buy Nokia's Here mapping division for the equivalent of about $2.7 billion. The particulars of the deal aren't yet official but could be announced at the end of July. Reuters claims that this info comes from anonymous insiders speaking to Manager Magazin in Germany. It might be too soon, however, to declare a buyer. Reuters also spoke to two other insiders, and they said that no deal has been completed yet. None of the firms involved has officially spoken about the negotiations. Some of the other bidders for the division have reportedly bowed out. Here is a high-definition digital mapping company that controls about 70 percent of the auto market. The company has a fleet of vehicles with cameras and LIDAR (pictured above) to generate all of the necessary information. It also partners with trucking companies to use their GPS data. Nokia started looking for potential buyers for Here earlier this year. Tech giants that reportedly included Uber and Apple were rumored to be interested, while German automakers also teamed up to submit a joint bid in part to protect their access to the maps. On paper, Here is only valued at around $785 million, but a sale in the billions now seems assured. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Nokia Here Earnings/Financials Audi BMW Technology here nokia here