Faraday Future has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the past few years and the company was gearing up to deliver the first FF 91s to customers early next year.
That plan could be in jeopardy as Reuters is reporting the startup is trying to end a deal to sell a 45 percent stake to China’s Evergrande Health Industry Group. While this usually wouldn’t be too interesting, The Verge is reporting Faraday Future has already spent around $800 (£611 / €696) million that was given to it by Evergrande.
Evergrande further contends that Faraday Future manipulated its board of directors in regards to a deal to advance the automaker additional money. If that wasn’t bad enough, the publication is also reporting the company hasn’t been paying some venders and supplies and is said to be considering layoffs.
The financial problem is reportedly severe enough that three companies have already filed liens against equipment that hasn’t been paid for. The publication also says it has reviewed e-mails between Faraday Future and venders which seem to suggest the company was giving them the runaround.
The icing on the cake is that The Verge says the company’s first and only pre-production version of the FF 91 caught on fire in September. This reportedly occurred shortly after the model was displayed at Faraday Future’s Futurist Day. That remains unconfirmed and there’s no word on how extensive the damage was.
Following this weekend’s reports, Faraday Future is fighting back saying the Evergrande deal was inked in 2017 and called for Faraday Future to give Evergrande a 45% stake in the company in exchange for $2 (£1.5 / €1.7) billion – including the initial $800 (£611 / €696) million payment.
Faraday Future says following the agreement, in July 2018, Evergrande agreed to speed up their remaining payments including making a contribution of $500 (£382 / €435) million this year. While the year isn’t over yet, Faraday Future is accusing Evergrande of holding back payment in an attempt to gain control of the company and its intellectual property. Faraday Future goes on to allege that Evergrande is also preventing the automaker from receiving funds from other sources.
The disagreement looks primed to spawn a lengthy legal battle and it’s becoming painfully clear that Faraday Future is once again running out of money. What happens next remains to be seen, but it would be a sad fate if the Faraday Future collapsed when it was so close to getting the FF 91 into production.