Faraday Future Puts Nevada Plant Construction on Pause

Electric vehicle startup Faraday Future has put construction of its $1 billion Nevada factory on pause.

In a statement released this week, Faraday Future founder Jia Yueting said the automaker has elected to halt construction of the Nevada facility and begin looking for an alternative production site that will allow its 1,000 horsepower FF 91 to enter production sooner. The brand will retain the rights to its Nevada site and still plans to build a vehicle there in the future, but for now, its completion isn’t high on Faraday Future’s list of priorities.

“We’re moving our FF 91 plant to a new location to ensure on-time delivery of our product,” Yueting said in a post on Chinese social media site WeChat. “We’re now doing our utmost to adjust our existing factory and buying equipment, to get to mass production as soon as possible.”

While the hiccup in the site’s production is bad news for Faraday Future, the state of Nevada doesn’t stand to lose much. In order to receive tax incentives, Faraday Future had to spend the full $1 billion it had agreed to invest in the project. It has yet to do that as the site isn’t complete, so taxpayers won’t be up in arms about this latest revelation.

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“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 Nevada governor’s office said in an emailed statement to Automotive News. “The agreement with Faraday held Nevada’s citizens harmless from the risk associated with this project.”

It’s not clear when the FF 91 will get to market, but it appears the automaker is determined to ensure the EV is on sale shortly. With Tesla launching its Model 3 this month and established automakers doubling down on their commitments to producing more EVs, the clock is ticking for FF and billionaire backer Yueting.

[Source: Automotive News]