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Attendees look at Faraday Future’s FF 91 prototype electric crossover vehicle after it was unveiled at CES 2017 on January 3, 2017, in Las Vegas.
The company recently scrapped plans for a second car facility that was to be built in California, but parent LeEco did raise $2 billion in funding in January. The FF 91 is a large crossover with James Bond-like features, such as facial recognition technology and a retractable LiDAR sensor in the hood to measure distances when it self-parks. The FF 91’s battery pack, developed in partnership with LG Chem, is said to allow a range of almost 380 miles — more than most Americans drive in a week and a longer range than any Tesla. Top versions of the FF 91 will have 1050 horsepower and 0 to 60 acceleration in 2.39 seconds, according to the company. If true, that would make it almost as quick as the Tesla Model S, the current record-holder as the quickest four-door production vehicle — it hit 60 in 2.28 seconds earlier this year in testing by Motor Trends.
Lucid Motors
Yueting is also among the Chinese investors in Lucid Motors, an EV start-up founded by a former Tesla executive, which has received more than $130 million in venture funding. Lucid’s first vehicle, the Air, is a sedan to be manufactured in Arizona. It has an enormous interior and two trunks (with total volume similar to a four-person hot tub). The base 400-horsepower model will have a 240-mile range and start at $52,500, after federal incentives. Upmarket versions will exceed $100,000 and feature larger battery packs, enabling more than a 400-mile range and a 2.5-second run to 60, according to the company. Lucid plans to start manufacturing in the first half of 2019, and produce 10,000 models its first 12 months of production. The Air seems to be a very close match to the Model S but is likely to undercut it in base pricing. Also, initial reviews note the Lucid’s interior is more luxurious than the Tesla, with higher-quality finishes.
Other Chinese investors in Lucid include venture capital firm Tsing Capital and state-owned Beijing Automotive. But it also has Venrock, the venture-capital arm of the Rockefeller family, and Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, among its investors. Due to Yueting’s notoriety, the company has stressed that it is an independent U.S.-based company. Chief technology officer Peter Rawlinson, who was previously chief engineer on the Tesla Model S, has also stressed that Yueting is a minority investor, and the investment LeEco made is already complete. The company has raised $130 million in funding, according to PitchBook.
