The Fisker Alaska Could Be A Budget $45,500 Rivian With Ideal Cowboy Hat Storage

As a Texan, the question I ask every time I step inside a car is the same: “Where in the Sam Hill am I supposed to put the gigantic Stetson hat that I wear literally everywhere I go?” Finally, I may have found a potential answer: the new Fisker Alaska, which could bring a needed dose of electric joy to the budding small pickup truck market.

We caught a glimpse of this truck earlier this month when Fisker showed off a few of its planned future models at its first-ever Product Vision Day. Along with the affordable Pear mini-crossover and Ronin four-door convertible sports car, the Alaska truck showed that the nascent EV brand—legendary designer Henrik Fisker’s second foray into car company ownership—has some big plans.

And now we have more details today on the Alaska, and I have to say it seems very promising. That’s if it ever goes into production; Fisker’s still a startup getting over its early-stage humps with its first EV, the Ocean. But there’s certainly room for a truck like the Alaska, and this thing has a lot going for it.

It’s all-electric, powered by either a 75 kWh or a 113 kWh battery pack (which is reasonably big these days.) Depending on the configuration, its range is between 230 and 340 miles. The zero to 60 mph dash “will range from 3.9 to 7.2 seconds.” So like, Camaro SS or Toyota Camry. Got it.

At 17.4 feet or 209 inches in length, it’s longer than a Hyundai Santa Cruz but not as long as a Chevrolet Colorado. That’s a good size—livable but reasonably compact. Fisker says it’s meant to be the brand’s “everything” vehicle: “sporty handling and driving dynamics combined with luxury SUV comfort and everything that discerning buyers in the booming pickup-truck market expect.”

I’ll tell you what I, as a discerning buyer, expect, and it’s a space for my damn hat. And the Fisker Alaska delivers in spades:

Outstanding.

There are a lot of other clever features here, which so far Fisker’s really carving a reputation for (the Ocean has a “California Mode” button that drops all the windows and sunroof at once, for example.) The Alaska boasts the world’s largest cupholder, capable of sustaining a Big Gulp; cockpit storage for your work gloves; and a bed that expands at the push of a button, Chevy Avalanche style, from 4.5 to 7.5 feet.

No word on exact pricing yet but Fisker says it’s expected to start at $45,400 before any tax incentives, which it should get because the company claims it’ll be built in the U.S. Presumably, that will be at the Foxconn plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Right now it’s building the Ocean at the Magna Steyr factory in Graz, Austria, and Fisker has told me it could depend on this “asset-light” contract manufacturing setup for a while.

While I tend to be cautious about most EV startups and Fisker has a lot to prove, I do think it’s working on some cool ideas and I think there’s a huge market for a more affordable EV truck than the stuff we’ve seen so far. I hope they pull it off. I have to hang my hat somewhere.

All photos: Fisker