If vehicles ran on drama, few would have as much range as those offered by Faraday Future.
Between a disgraced founder, purported death threats, constant production delays, activist shareholders, and flirtations with bankruptcy, Faraday Future gets plenty of press but mostly for the wrong reasons.
That’s happening once again as Faraday Future’s Board of Directors has ousted CEO Carsten Breitfeld. The would-be automaker says the move comes after a “comprehensive evaluation of the company’s performance since it went public in July 2021.”
Also: Faraday Future Unveils Production-Intent FF 91, Bills It As The “First True Luxury EV”
Needless to say, things haven’t gone smoothly as the company’s stock has plummeted from $14.82 per share on July 23rd, 2021 to 35 cents today. While that’s undeniably bad, Faraday Future has been making progress as the oft-delayed FF 91 Futurist received an EPA rating of 381 miles (613 km) in September.
At the time, the company said their California factory was nearing completion and has already been building production-intent vehicles for testing and validation. They added that process was expected to wrap up in the fourth quarter, which should enable them to begin retail production and deliveries of the FF 91 by the end of the year.
Since then, construction on the factory has been completed and equipment has been installed. Despite that glimmer of good news, the company used their third quarter results to reveal the FF 91 has been delayed yet again. As Breitfeld explained on November 21st, “We are currently developing revised budgets and production plans, and hope to be in a position to announce the timing of delivering the FF 91 to users shortly after funding is secured.”
Besides the production delay, the automaker revealed nearly 8% of reservation holders bailed. As a result, there are now only 369 pre-orders as 32 customers apparently decided to get their deposit back.
Putting all that aside, Breitfeld has been replaced by Xuefeng (“XF”) Chen. He was previously serving as FF China CEO and has extensive experience in the automotive industry including stints at Changan Ford, Changan Mazda, and Chery Jaguar Land Rover.
Faraday Future’s Chairman of the Board, Adam He, said “I believe the decision to appoint XF at this critical juncture of the company is a timely and correct one.” He added, “The company’s top priority right now is to deliver the FF 91 Futurist to our users with high quality and minimal cost, and to successfully realize the US-China dual home market strategy with the ultimate goal to maximize Faraday Future stockholder interest.”
