A former GM exec who’s now filling a very different role as the CEO of a California startup, Mr P has learned that fund-raising is a never-ending process.

Fisker CEO Tony Posawatz gave an upbeat interview to Fox News at the LA auto show, singing the praises of the Karma extended range luxury sedan, which he points out is the 4th best-selling plug-in vehicle in the US, and getting excited about the upcoming mid-market Atlantic.

A former GM exec who’s now filling a very different role as the CEO of a California startup, Mr P has learned that fund-raising is a never-ending process. Fisker recently completed a round of private financing, and has raised in total a little over a billion bucks, but will need more to bring the Atlantic into volume production. “We do need a little more funding to take that next step,” said Posawatz.

One source could be Fisker’s federal loan from the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program – the company drew $190 million of its total $529 million commitment before the loan was frozen early in 2011 due to some missed deadlines. “We are having discussions with the DOE on what's next,” Posawatz hinted, “now that we're post-election.”

Many in the EV world are wondering what’s up with the ATVM loans. President George W. Bush allocated $25 billion for the program, but less than $9 billion had been disbursed when the Obama administration turned off the spigot (the last award was made in November 2010, according to Green Car Reports). Now that our quadrennial madness is behind us, might the faucet be opened up again?

Also this week, Tony Posawatz told the Wall Street Journal that Fisker has hired the investment bank Evercore Partners to help find a “strategic partner,” perhaps in China or Europe. Posawatz specifically ruled out bankruptcy for Fisker, but the WDJ speculated about a possible sale.

Sources: Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Green Car Reports