If vehicles were to work dramatically, few would have as much range as Faraday Future’s.
Between a disaffected founder, alleged death threats, constant production delays, activist shareholders and flirtations with bankruptcy, Faraday Future is getting a lot of press, but mostly for the wrong reasons.
It’s happening again, as Faraday Future’s Board of Directors fired CEO Carsten Breitfeld. The upcoming automaker says the move comes after a “comprehensive review of the company’s performance since going public in July 2021.”
Also: Faraday Future Reveals FF 91 Production Intent, Bills It As ‘First True Luxury EV’
Needless to say, things did not go well, as the company’s stock fell from $14.82 per share on July 23, 2021 to 35 cents today. While this is undeniably bad, Faraday Future has made progress as the oft-delayed FF 91 Futurist received an EPA rating of 381 miles (613 km) in September.
At the time, the company said their California factory was nearing completion and had already built production vehicles for testing and validation. They added that the trial was expected to conclude in the fourth quarter, which should allow them to begin retail production and deliveries of the FF 91 by the end of the year.
Since then, the factory construction has been completed and equipment has been installed. Despite that good news, the company used its third quarter results to reveal that FF 91 has been delayed again. As Breitfeld explained on Nov. 21, “We are currently developing revised production budgets and plans and hope to be able to announce when the FF 91 will be delivered to users shortly after financing is secured.”
In addition to the production delay, the automaker revealed that nearly 8 percent of reservation holders have bailed. As a result, there are now only 369 pre-orders as 32 customers have apparently decided to get their deposit back.
All that aside, Breitfeld was replaced by Xuefeng (“XF”) Chen. He previously served as CEO of FF China and has extensive experience in the automotive industry, including at Changan Ford, Changan Mazda and Chery Jaguar Land Rover.
Faraday Future chairman Adam He said: “I believe the decision to name the XF at this critical time for the company is a timely and correct one.” He added: “The company’s top priority at this time is to deliver the FF 91 Futurist to our users with high quality and minimum cost, and to successfully realize the US-China dual domestic market strategy, with the ultimate goal of maximizing shareholder interest Faraday Future. “
