Faraday Future, the electric-vehicle start-up backed by former Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp (LeEco, 樂視) chairman Jia Yueting (賈躍亭), halted plans to build a US$1 billion factory in Nevada as the troubled tycoon fights for the survival of his Chinese car business.
The plant in Las Vegas that was due to build Faraday’s 1,050-horsepower FF 91 has been put on hold, an e-mailed statement said.
Faraday earlier this year claimed the FF 91 would be the world’s fastest electric car, beating souped-up versions of Tesla Inc’s Model S sedan.
Photo: AFP
“We are in the process of identifying a manufacturing facility that presents a faster path to start-of-production and aligns with future strategic options,” Faraday said in the statement.
The halt marks another setback for one of China’s most outspoken and controversial entrepreneurs. Jia made a fortune building LeEco into China’s answer to Netflix, then struggled as he tried to expand into smartphones, movies and autos.
Amid a cash crunch, Jia last week ceded the chief executive officer role at Leshi and said he would step down from its board to focus on serving as chairman of LeEco’s auto unit.
Construction on Faraday’s Nevada factory paused at one point late last year when the facility’s building contractor claimed payments had stopped. At least two other suppliers, including a car-seat maker and media-services provider, took legal action to force Faraday to pay its debts.
The state’s agreement with Faraday required the company to fully invest a minimum of US$1 billion to receive incentives, the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development said in an e-mailed statement.
“The state recognized both the opportunity a large manufacturing facility could provide as well as the inherent risk associated with a startup company attempting this endeavor,” the governor’s office said. “The agreement with Faraday held Nevada’s citizens harmless from the risk associated with this project.”
Nevada Treasurer Dan Schwartz questioned Jia’s plans for the electric-car plant there last year.
He called the billionaire’s strategy of borrowing to finance so many new businesses so quickly unsustainable.
“This is all fantasy land,” he said at the time. “The best analogy is the emperor’s new clothes. There’s nothing there.”
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