Faraday Future says it has not yet raised $1 billion in "life-saving money"

On December 18, in response to media reports that Faraday Future (FF) had successfully completed a round A equity financing of more than US$1 billion, a reporter from Economic Observer exclusively learned from a public relations director of FF in the United States that FF's financing has not yet been successful, "We are still waiting for news." And as FF's funds are exhausted, FF's fate remains unknown.

As LeEco Auto's development in China is almost stagnant, and Jia Yueting's dream place of making a comeback in the United States, FF has also encountered financial crises and employee resignations in the past year. Both LeEco Auto in China and FF in the United States are in urgent need of funds to survive.

Previously, both India's Tata Group and Hong Kong's "little giant" Richard Li had been rumored to have invested in LeEco's auto-related business, but in the end, all of them were denied by all parties, which was also seen as a "skill" of publicity adopted by Jia Yueting and his team to raise funds. The news of the successful financing this time was also seen as "intentional."

The above-mentioned news of FF's successful financing revealed that Jia Yueting and FF's other six Chinese and American executives announced at an internal meeting that FF had successfully completed over $1 billion in financing, and stated that Jia Yueting would serve as FF's global CEO and chief product officer. In fact, on December 13, Los Angeles time, Jia Yueting did hold a meeting within FF, but this FF internal mobilization meeting did not announce any news about the successful financing.

It is worth noting that recently, both in China and the United States, negative news about Jia Yueting and LeEco has been constantly released, which makes the timing of this "oolong" news of successful financing quite clever. Previously, LeEco, which was obviously not financing smoothly, hoped to obtain life-saving funds by selling fixed assets, and chose to put LeEco's headquarters building up for sale, but because the building had been used as a mortgage and had not been released, no one took it for a while; then, the news that Jia Yueting was listed as a dishonest debtor for the second time was reported; and in early December, some media also visited Faraday Future's factory in Hanford, California, the fact that the factory was empty and none of the production equipment was in place once again triggered speculation about the whereabouts of Jia Yueting's previous investments...

There is no doubt that in the face of Jia Yueting's public promise that "Faraday Future plans to deliver the first mass-produced car by the end of 2018" and FF's financial difficulties, Jia Yueting and his team have no choice but to speed up the search for channels to solve the financing problem.

"Jia Yueting is indeed constantly looking for various people and resources to raise funds for FF, but to be honest, FF's current financing situation is not optimistic." A source familiar with FF's financing progress told the Economic Observer reporter, "FF's current demand for funds is very large. Employee salaries, factory equipment procurement, production and operations, etc. are not a small amount. Even institutions and companies that are interested in participating in FF's financing will have differences between the two parties because of the emphasis on the nature of the use of funds and the protection of investors' interests. Therefore, it is indeed very difficult for FF to find a suitable investment entity."

At present, FF is almost on the verge of despair. According to reports, FF has very little funds left, and may only be able to support daily operating expenses until the end of this year. If it fails to introduce new financing in time, FF may go bankrupt.

"At present, FF's biggest problems are credit overdraft and the valuation pricing made out of thin air is not recognized, and investors are still very cautious. LeTV's domestic assets are currently frozen layer by layer, and FF's business is like a bottomless pit. It is really hard to say everything." A person familiar with the matter revealed to the Economic Observer reporter.

It is reported that in order to save FF, Jia Yueting is still looking for potential investors. Whether Jia Yueting can find "life-saving money" for FF in time will determine the survival of the last card in his hand.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.