Faraday Future may be best known these days for a long stream of negative publicity — and there's more on that in a moment. But a new video from an automotive vlogger might help ramp up enthusiasm for its forthcoming FF91 electric super SUV.
It's important to note right off the bat that the video, by YouTube vlogger Rob Dahm, is sponsored by Faraday Future, which invited Dahm to ride shotgun in an FF91 and visit the company's headquarters in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, we don't get to actually see much of the interior of either, but Dahm says the car is "beautiful. I will tell you firsthand that this is a remarkable vehicle. When we talk about luxury, Tesla's got nothing on it. Personal opinion." OK then.
Now, as we mentioned earlier, Faraday Future has suffered a veritable murderer's row of bad press lately, and here comes some fresh dirt: The company has filed suit in Central California District Court against its former CFO, Stefan Krause, accusing him of stealing Faraday Future's trade secrets and soliciting employees including "several key executives and technical personnel" during his final days with the company to follow him to his new startup, Evelozcity Inc. The lawsuit was first reported by The Verge. Krause, a former CFO of BMW Group, was hired in March 2017 and is believed to have left the company in October, though the lawsuit claims he left in November and spent a few weeks working for both companies.
"Indeed, it appears that Evelozcity's business plan is to hire as many senior FF personnel as possible, have them copy and take FF's proprietary information that has been developed at great trouble and expense on their way out the door, and then use those trade secrets to unfairly compete with FF," the complaint says.
The new lawsuit adds to a recent history of financial troubles, missed payments and the exodus of several top executives beyond Krause. Faraday Future last year threw in the towel — and its $16,200 in tax incentives it had accepted from the state of Nevada — on its plans for a Las Vegas-area plant. Instead, it's now leasing a 1 million square-foot factory space in Hanford, Calif.
Anyway, back to the video. Dahm is treated to a spin in a FF91 with the body number 36, which an employee says features a close-to-production-spec exterior (though notably, it still features those rear-facing cameras in place of conventional side mirrors). We get a brief but interesting shot of the vehicle's 130-kWh, 1,050-hp battery pack embedded into the platform.
The video also illustrates two of the FF91's most novel features: Its handling ability during a sharp, evasive turn, and its lightning-fast acceleration from a stop. The former is down to the vehicle's four-wheel steering. The latter is indicative of the car's boasted 2.39-second 0-to-60 time.
Faraday Future underlines in the new lawsuit its plans to bring the FF91 to the market late this year. If that happens, it might be in spite of its own internal dysfunctions.
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