After breaking ground on a billion dollar factory in Sparks, Nevada earlier this month, Faraday Future is now working a deal on a second facility in Vallejo, California. So—a Bay Area factory and a larger Nevada-based factory. Sound familiar? Oh yea! That’s Tesla’s deal.
It’s not exactly breaking news that Faraday Future, and many other companies jumping into the electric car game, look to Tesla as a principle example for developing a EV business model. It’s just kind of funny how close to the plan Faraday Future is following.
After nabbing multiple executives and engineers from Tesla and running off to Nevada to build a really big factory, just like Tesla’s Gigafactory, Faraday Future is now interested in mimicking Tesla’s Fremont-located Bay Area manufacturing facility with one of their own.
According to the Vallejo Times Herald, city officials will meet with executives of Faraday Future at the end of the month to work out an exclusive negotiation for developing 157 acres of waterfront property on Mare Island into a second production facility for the electric car startup.
“In recent months, [Faraday Future] has introduced a first concept vehicle, displayed a vehicle platform designed to enable rapid development and production of an entire line of electric vehicles, and kicked off development of its first U.S. manufacturing facility in North Las Vegas,” city officials said. “After evaluating 187 sites nationwide, Faraday Future chose Mare Island, Vallejo and the North Bay in large part due to its proximity to Silicon Valley, an employee base that can be trained to build cars, and a strong market for electric vehicles and new technology and transportation innovation.”
If a deal is eventually worked out, the 157 acre plot would only equate to a fraction of the 900 acre facility the company is currently building in Sparks, Nevada, but will function as a smaller production facility with offices for a growing staff of recruited workers from the Valley.
The land up for grabs used to be part of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, which was closed in 1997. If a deal is struck, the property will be given Faraday Future as-is, requiring a complete overhaul including destruction of what’s there, revamped infrastructure, and other work the city estimated to cost around $50 million.
Seeing as Faraday had a hard time working with the Nevada treasury on creating a confident agreement for the futuristic factory in the desert, it’s surprising to learn of plans stretching back months on securing a second facility. Of course this is just the first step of many, but it sounds like everyone involved is excited.
And as we know that’s how Tesla does it, and it’s working out okay for them so far.
Via Electrek