The last few years haven’t been kind to EV startups
hoping to repeat the success of Tesla
. For each new automaker managing to hold on, another can be found in Wall Street’s garbage heap of bankruptcies and failures. One such company was Faraday Future… or so we thought. Originally hoping to release its first model, the FF91 crossover, in 2017, the L.A.-based EV brand met barrier after barrier. In 2019, its founder and CEO stepped down and filed for bankruptcy.
But now Faraday Future looks to be back from the grave thanks to two new major investors. Will it be enough to bring the FF91 to market? Jerry
, your car insurance super app, dug into the details to find out. New funds jolt Faraday Future back to life
Faraday Future (FF) has been down a rocky road since Jia Yueting founded it in 2014. After toying with building assembly plants in Vallejo, California, and North Las Vegas, Nevada, Autoblog
says doubts were voiced by ex-employees and government officials in 2016. By mid-2017, the company had to back out of its production plant plans in Nevada because of a lack of funds. Yueting stepped down two years later and was replaced by former Byton
CEO, Carsten Breitfeld. An entry onto the U.S. Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021 seemed to breathe new life into the company, but Inside EVs
(IE) says legal troubles this year looked to drive the last nail in FF’s coffin. That was until the company announced at the beginning of October that the dispute with its shareholder had been resolved. In addition, the memo says that new investments
have funneled $100 million into the startup’s coffers. The future of the FF91
The new news from FF didn’t include any details about when we will see an EV roll off the assembly line, and earlier statements from the company said it needed $300 million to continue operating, but all signs show that the FF91
remains on the startup’s docket. For a long time, little was shared about the FF91. Its battery was teased by MotorTrend
in 2015 before the electric crossover was unveiled at the 2017 U.S. Consumer Electronics Show. But even then, most specs were kept under wraps. At the time, FF boasted that its battery would be 15% more efficient than the module in the Tesla Model S, would be repairable with replaceable cells, and have the highest energy density of anything on the market at the time.
Finally, in September 2022, the company gave a few more details about the FF91. The crossover will offer 1,050 hp through three electric motors and will have an EPA-rated range of 381 miles—that is, if it ever reaches production.
What will Faraday Future’s first EV cost to own?
One thing we’ve known for a long time about the FF91 is that it won’t be cheap. FF clearly stated early on that it plans to make luxury EVs, and at one point, former CEO Yueting remarked that the electric crossover would cost “less than $300,000.”
One can only imagine what car insurance
would cost for a $200,000 to $300,000 EV, but if it ever comes to that, you can count on Jerry to find you the best price for coverage. Jerry is your ultra-talented car insurance broker for life. No need to sit across from him at a desk: Jerry is an app! It takes less than a minute to sign up, and you’ll be presented with competitive rates from dozens of top providers. Don’t lose coverage—find savings with Jerry.
