Faraday Future Pushes Back Launch Of Flagship EV Amid Supply Chain Issues, Financing Constraints

Electric vehicle maker Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. FFIE said in a late-Monday filing that the launch of its FF 91 all-electric SUV is being pushed back.

What Happened: Faraday Future, a California-based company founded in 2014, said production and first deliveries of its flagship FF 91 vehicle would commence in the U.S. in the third or fourth quarter of 2022.

In May, the company had said in its first-quarter earnings release that it would launch the vehicle in the third quarter.

Faraday Future blamed the potential delay on recent supply chain issues. The company also sounded out the need for additional cash to commercially launch the FF 91.

“Any challenges in supplier engagements, delays in ramping capacity or labor at the Company’s Hanford, California manufacturing facility or for sales and service engagements, rising prices of materials, or ongoing global supply chain disruptions may further increase the need for additional capital to launch the FF 91 series,” the company said.

Apart from the vehicle, “substantial” additional capital will be required to fund operations R&D, and design efforts for future vehicles, it added.

Faraday Future said it is continuing to negotiate with certain potential investors regarding potential financing and additional capital to fund production activities through the end of 2022 and beyond.

Related Link: Palantir-Backed EV Maker Faraday Future Overhauls Leadership Structure In Aftermath Of Short-Seller Allegations

Why It’s Important: Faraday Future, among several EV startups, has been mired in controversy. FFZero1, a single-seat EV concept car the company unveiled in January 2016, has not seen the light of day yet.

Amid this, the company took the SPAC route to go public in July 2021. Following a short-seller report that accused the company of making inaccurate statements Faraday was forced to overhaul its management team. It is currently under the scanner of the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Faraday Future’s stock has been highly volatile of late. After trebling since the start of July amid the unwinding of short bets, the stock has retraced the move.

Price Action: Faraday Future closed Monday’s session down 11.54% to $2.30, according to Benzinga Pro Data.

Photo: Courtesy of Faraday