Electric car battery maker A123 Systems filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, Oct. 16, dealing a serious blow to the Obama Administration's green energy program. The Massachusetts-based company was part of President Obama's grand plan to build a domestic electric-car industry basically from scratch. Back in 2009, A123 Systems won a $249 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to build batteries for electric cars at a new plant in Michigan. The company may be best known as the battery manufacturer for the Fisker Karma hybrid. A123 Systems' bankruptcy filing came unexpected, as the company recently struck a deal in late august to sell a majority stake to a Chinese auto parts maker. That agreement with the Wanxiang Group appeared to provide a lifeline for the struggling company, but A123 said the deal was never actually completed.