It’s hard starting a car company. Just ask Elon. Or Steve Burns from Lordstown. Sir James Dyson would also like a word. Nevertheless, plenty of businesspeople continue down a path that is alluring but certainly tilted in favor of financial annihilation. Faraday Future is on that list, following a recent warning from the company about missed production dates if they don’t raise more moolah.
The EV startup company, based in – where else? – California had been planning to begin cranking out copies of its FF 91 crossover-type vehicle sometime this summer. July, to be exact. With the end of this month rapidly approaching, suits at FF have reportedly pushed that date into Q3 or even Q4 of this calendar year. Specifically, in a form filed with the SEC just yesterday (July 25th), spox for Faraday Future said “Due to recent supply chain issues, start of production and first deliveries of the Company’s FF 91 flagship electric vehicle in the United States are now expected to commence in the third or fourth quarter of 2022.”
Alright, fine. Supply chains are a headache for all automakers these days, so it’s difficult to be too hard on Faraday Future for this hiccup. However, the filing went on to say there may be more to the matter than global supply chain crunches.
“The company needs additional cash to commercially launch the FF 91 and is currently seeking to raise additional capital to fund its operations through December 31, 2022.”
In other words, they need an infusion of cheddar in order to keep the lights on.
Remember, when the company was founded way back in 2014, they set an initial production date for the FF 91 as early as 2018. Alert readers will note that the deadline passed four years ago. There has also been drama worth of high school playing out in the boardroom, with noted outlets like Bloomberg reporting a raft of disagreements taking place in various and sundry corner offices. Allegedly, money to the tune of $100 million had been offered by a group of shareholders in exchange for the resignation of its director, a proposal which was apparently rebuffed. Perhaps the person at the head of the table should have taken one for the team.
Our man Posky wrangled many of the notable twists in the Faraday Future gestation earlier this year, and his post remains on our recommended reading list for anyone seeking to understand the sinewy route FF has taken to get where it is today. As for now, it’d seem like all hands are searching company couches for spare change.
[Images: Faraday Future]
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