A Chinese billionaire is betting big on electric vehicles by going after the US market.
The new Tesla? Hard to tell... Image: Faraday Futures |
Faraday Future will start with a 6.4bn yuan ($1bn) investment into a manufacturing plant, due to come online as early as 2017, in a bid to compete with established new energy vehicle (NEV) makers like Tesla and Toyota.
The company has already poached Nick Sampson, a former Tesla director, to serve as its new Senior Vice President of R&D.
Despite his grand vision, founder Jia Yueting - who made his millions from popular online video site Leshi Television - is being ultra-secretive around Faraday. He will not even reveal the name of its CEO. Jia based his company in California, where it has been quietly developing its first model with just 400 employees.
Although NEVs have been losing money (Tesla has lost $1.9bn since 2007) as cheap gasoline and growing demand for SUVs squeeze electric sales, Sampson and Jia are confident that new techniques for developing NEVs will lower the costs of entering the market.
The ambitious startup is planning to increase connectivity with the drivers, eventually incorporating a rolling smartphone that knows its drivers and their preferences. Adding subscriptions to apps and infotainment will also add a futher revenue stream for the company.
Other Tesla alumni now working for Faraday include Dag Reckhorn, a former Director of Manufacturing; Alan Cherry, Tesla's ex-HR Director; and Tom Wessner, its former Director of Purchasing. The company is also teeming with former Tesla managers, according to Sampson.