AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)10/31 Report--

On Oct. 31, electric car startup Faraday Future (FF) announced that it had received all net financing related to the $30 million (214 million yuan) financing commitment announced in September. It is understood that the money comes from investors in the Middle East, the United States and Asia, and the last sum of money arrived this week.

For FF, this investment is very important, which means that FF can continue to run smoothly again. FF said the financing would facilitate the delivery of FF91 and the gradual recovery of the supply chain, as well as financial support for the new brand Faraday X ("FX") project. In addition, FF has reached agreements with several key suppliers.

Faraday X (hereinafter referred to as "FX") is the second brand launched by FF, launched on Sept. 20, with the goal of creating a popular smart electric vehicle (AI EV). FX will be the first to launch two new cars with a pricing range of $20, 000 to $50, 000, which will start production by the end of 2025 at the earliest, but FF stressed that the plan can be achieved only if FF gets the necessary funding. FF is currently recruiting key positions for FX, but FX is mainly aimed at the US market, after Jia Yueting said that FX's mission is to build and popularize the extreme body-price ratio AI EV of "twice the performance, half the price" in the US market, and strive to become Toyota in the AI EV era.

At the moment, FF is not in a good position. In the first half of this year, FF posted revenue of $295000 and a net loss of $157 million (1.1 billion yuan). As of June 30, cash used for FF's operating activities was $29.1 million; total book assets were $457.9 million; total liabilities were $309.2 million; and net assets were $148.7 million (about RMB 1.062 billion). In terms of new car delivery, only 2 new FF91 cars were delivered in the first half of the year. Even more bizarre is that only 14 new cars have been delivered so far since FF91 was delivered. To put it simply, it is almost impossible for FF to change its predicament by relying on the FF91 luxury car, which costs as much as 2 million yuan.

Jia Yueting officially founded the FF brand in California in May 2014. the first mass-produced electric car, the FF91, was released in January 2017 and went on sale in May 2023. In terms of time node, this year happens to be the 10th year of Jia Yueting's car building, but Jia Yueting's insistence on building a car for 10 years can only be said to be "starting a five o'clock and catching up with an evening set." at the same time, he also faces a huge debt gap.

On the 10th of last month, FF filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that FF will raise the salary of its founder Jia Yueting, and the annual basic salary will be raised from $450000 to $680000 (about 4.83 million yuan), an increase of more than 50%, along with CEO Matthias Aydt. Jia Yueting will also receive an one-time recognition bonus of $500000, an annual discretionary target bonus of $816000 and two annual stock awards with a total value of more than $4 million. The two executives got a raise because FF received a $30 million financing commitment. However, it was reported at the time that the salary increase and bonus would not be received in the short term, and Jia Yueting would get the rest of the raise only when FF restored the full salary of all its employees.

At present, Jia Yueting is facing high debt and is listed as an old scoundrel. According to reports, Jia Yueting's current debt in China is about 2 billion US dollars (about 14.259 billion yuan), but Jia Yueting stressed that paying the debt back to China is something he must do, and shouted the slogan "I will never lie flat, will not admit defeat, let alone disappear." As for when he will be able to repay the debt and return home, the time limit given by Jia Yueting is two years.

Returning to the topic of $30 million (214 million yuan) financing for FF, Jia Yueting said that this money is not a lot for traditional car companies, but it is of great significance to FF, especially for the implementation plan of FF's second brand FX. Jia Yueting said: "there is news that Tesla will cancel the plan of 25000 US dollars (about 178000 yuan) cheap electric cars, which is a very great loss to the development of the American AI EV market. If Tesla does not do it, someone must do it, which highlights the great potential and necessity of FX." The combination of FX models priced at $20,000 to $30,000 and extended range plus pure electric products will solve the pain points faced by new energy users in the US auto market, such as cost and mileage anxiety, and firmly believe that FX will gain a place in this new track. "

Judging from Jia Yueting's statement between the lines, Jia Yueting has high expectations for the FX brand, but in the current situation, even with a blessing of $30 million, it is not easy for Jia Yueting to win on the new track, and there are still many uncertainties as to whether the $30 million financing will bring more possibilities to FF.

FF shares closed at $2.03 per share, down 2.87%, at Oct. 30, with a total market capitalization of $25.13 million.

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