Faraday Future Converts Planned 'Mega Factory' Into Smaller Scale Starter Plant
Faraday Future had already broken ground on a sprawling $1 billion factory in North Las Vegas when a multi-million dollar late fee forced contractors to go on hiatus last November. Then, at CES 2017, the company announced the resumption of construction as the city’s mayor waved to the crowd — a physical manifestation of goodwill towards the company’s new promises.
What they did not say, however, was that the factory would be a fraction of the size as originally claimed, existing as a smaller-scale starter plant. Faraday is the automotive equivalent of Monty Python’s Black Knight. It continues to suffer horrendous blows that cripple its operational ability, all the while telling the world, “Tis but a scratch.”
Las Vegas Now 8 News quoted North Las Vegas city manager Dr. Qiong Lui as saying, “It’s a 650,000 square foot mini-plant that’s going to be complete about August, end of August.”
While ludicrously ambitious, that’s still nowhere near the 3 million-square-foot “mega factory” Faraday Future originally promised.
The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development says it will continue building roads, sewers, and water lines to the Apex Industrial Park, regardless of the company’s involvement. “We’re not really hedging bets, we’re looking for a method to put the infrastructure in at Apex, because it’s critical for more than just Faraday, in the event that Faraday doesn’t move forward,” said Steve Hill, director of economic development.
Faraday Future continues to claim that its first model — the FF 91 — will be on the market in 2018.
(Update 2/6/2016) A Faraday Future spokesperson reached out to us after this piece was published to explain that “as part of a long-term development plan to bring manufacturing facilities online at a steady pace, Faraday Future is moving forward with a multi-stage manufacturing strategy at APEX North Las Vegas.”
According to Faraday, the smaller factory is only the first phase of a multi-stage approach intended to bring the FF 91 swiftly to market.
“We expect planning, engineering, and construction of this Stage 1 Manufacturing Project to proceed rapidly so that we can bring our flagship vehicle, the FF 91, to production more quickly. At a later date, this Stage 1 Manufacturing Project will be integrated into the Stage 2 Manufacturing Project, which is scheduled to start construction later this year,” the spokesperson continued. “Faraday Future remains committed to the State of Nevada and our $1B investment in the region over the next few years.”
[Image: Faraday Future]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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It's appropo that they're now allegedly going to build this 1/5th scale model factory in a desert as, it too, even dramatically downsized, will be nothing but a mirage.
Actually, 1/2.15 scale. Area scales with the ratio squared, remember?