Luxury electric vehicle startup Faraday Future says it has been the target of a misinformation campaign aimed at disrupting its plans to put its first model into production. The company says this had a negative impact on its ability to raise the funds it needed to move forward and according to a recent report, members of the board reportedly received threats of physical violence and even death from other members of the board.
Faraday Future said in a statement released on Thursday that
Unfortunately, efforts to raise capital have been impacted by a misinformation campaign of completely baseless allegations that certain directors are conspiring to pursue an unnecessary bankruptcy for their own personal gain.
These unfounded allegations have nevertheless continued against certain of the company’s officers and directors. Threats that began with lawsuits have escalated to threats of physical violence and even death threats.
Automotive News notes that Faraday Future will report this to law enforcement agencies like the FBI, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Department of Justice, although it has yet to publicly nominate who exactly made the threats. This is in connection with the group of shareholders led by one of the company’s founders Jia Yueting that earlier this week filed a lawsuit against Faraday Future citing a “crisis of leadership” with the aim of ousting two top execs.
The startup is already building cars, albeit pre-production examples, but they are coming out of its own factory in California, which is still in the process of being tooled-up for full production. Its first model, the 1,050 horsepower FF 91, recently received its EPA certified range of 381 miles from its 130 kWh battery pack.
Its production has been delayed several times since it was revealed back in 2017, but now Faraday Future is adamant that it will start by the end of the year and that we may even see some vehicles reach customer’s hands. However, the company’s uncertain financial situation still raises question marks about its production plans - it is currently still looking for money to help it start.
