We were teased last week by famous car designer Henrik Fisker. He posted an image on Twitter and a caption announcing “An exciting Fisker product in a whole new segment coming soon. The future of mobility will change forever.” The image appeared to be some kind of pod, and that's almost exactly what it is.

The Los Angeles Auto Show somewhat drowned out the excitement for the actual reveal last Thursday, a new vehicle called the Fisker Orbit.

The Fisker Orbit is an autonomous shuttle designed to operate in the informational grid of "smart cities" in as early as October of next year.

This car doesn't look like the self-driving fords we're seeing from Lyft or the sharp style of a Tesla. The Orbit looks like how I imagine busses would look in a sci-fi dystopia. The rounded box shape of the car is presumably done to maximize cabin space.

Most curiously, how does Fisker intend to have these vehicles ready by next year? Google and GM are some of the biggest in the industry, and their respective Waymo and Cruise programs still don't expect to hit the roads in that time. This assumes connected cities and ideal weather. How the Orbit intends to handle storms or fog remains to be seen.

More information is sure to arrive in due time, but unless they make some impressive announcements, I have little faith in their expected release date.