Faraday Future delays the launch of its first electric vehicle yet again

Back in February, Faraday Future presented the production version of its FF91 electric SUV at its California plant and said it would start manufacturing its long-delayed vehicle in the third quarter of 2022. Now, according to Bloomberg, the embattled company has revealed in a filing for investors that it has to push back the EV’s production yet again and that it needs more cash for its commercial launch. 

Apparently, the company said it has to delay FF91’s deliveries to the “third or fourth quarter of 2022.” Seeing as the third quarter has already started, it’s now likely aiming for late Q3 — that said, the fourth quarter seems more likely, and that is if Faraday Future’s plans finally go as intended. Especially since it also has to find the money needed to keep running: The company also told investors that it needs additional cash to launch the FF91 and that it’s looking to raise around $325 million to fund its operations until December 31st, 2022. 

Faraday Future was founded in 2014 and planned to launch its first electric vehicle way back in 2018. It’s had to postpone launching its EV several times over the past years as it grappled with a litany of financial issues. The company almost ran out of cash in 2017 until a company called Season Smart, which was later acquired by Chinese company Evergrande, agreed to invest $2 billion in it. Faraday Future quickly burned through Season Smart’s $800 million initial cash injection, though, and it spent 2018 feuding with its main investor. 

While it reached a restructuring deal with Evergrande by the end of 2018, it wasn’t able to secure enough money to bring back the employees it put on unpaid leave. The company also had to give up on its plans to build a factory in Las Vegas and put up the 900-acre plot for sale for $40 million. Faraday went public in a merger with a blank-check company back in 2021, but it looks like that wasn’t enough to solve its financial woes.

As Bloomberg notes, the delay comes in the midst of an issue between the company and its founder, Jia Yueting, who stepped down as CEO in 2019 as part of the company’ restructuring deal. Apparently, a shareholder group associated with Yueting offering Faraday Future “at least $100 million” to remove an unnamed director from the startup’s board. The company reportedly pushed back, and the group accused it of not treating the offer “with the gravity, urgency and fairness it deserves” considering Faraday’s financial condition.