We have been stalking Faraday Future since the early days — we’ve stayed on top of the rumors and weeded out the likely rumors from the unlikely — and the day has finally arrived. Faraday Future pulled the curtain back from the much anticipated first concept car tonight to let the world see the fruits of many months of secretive labor.
Arriving at the event early, I surveilled the premises to get a feel for what was in store. A large white tent sat in the middle of an otherwise vacant parking lot. It was buttoned up tight with few exceptions where stray LED light leaked onto the asphalt. At the front of the building, a double-wide door beckoned with the signature FF logo hovering overhead, beckoning me as if I were a child being lured into a mysterious circus tent.
As the time to enter approached, the anticipation grew amongst those gathered — though, the curiosity was tinged with the knowledge that a possible leak from earlier in the day might be what waited inside. It was nothing terrible or ugly, but it was not the sexy breakthrough passenger vehicle that many had hoped for. Perhaps we had imagined the utopian electric car that brought massive range, autonomous driving, and a revolutionary passenger experience — no driver needed, thank you very much.
As the clocks around the entry crossed the one-hour threshold, we grew restless and were soon let into the main room just as a new wave of rain ominously swept through town, chasing any stragglers into the dark tent. The main room was saturated by unnatural shades of purple and pink, with the tone fading awkwardly between the two in irregular frequencies. A stage sat in the front of the room with what was clearly the leaked vehicle under a sheet.
The show started with a replay of the “What if” teaser video that begged for… no — mandated — a fresh slate approach to passenger car design. The pace died down a bit when Nick Sampson, Senior Vice President of R&D and Product Development for Faraday Future, took the stage. He shared the four key pillars of what made Faraday & Future (as they were called in the presentation) tick… what called them from bed in the morning to head out to change the world:
- Amazing Team
- Transformative Vision
- Incredible Alliances
- They move very fast.
None of these themes are breakthrough. None of these are surprises. We have heard of the amazing team that has been assembled, though the updated employment numbers pin Los Angeles staff at 550 (vs. 400 in our last update) and other staff located elsewhere in the world at roughly 200.
Read the rest of this article, check out many pictures from the unveiling, and dive into the discussion on CleanTechnica.
It was kind of a yawnfest. A “racecar” single seater with incredibly low ground clearance and an enormous step-over. Even the aerodynamic tunnels have been done before – check out the Nissan LMP1 – an actual racecar.
I do have a pet hypothesis I’d like to try out here: Did you notice that Tesla Motors’ products happen to match Elon Musk’s personal needs and preferences very closely?
Model S has enough seats for his five kids, unlike most sedans. Model X has adult-sized third row seats, almost in time for his younger kids growing out of the third row seat in the S.
Could the CEO be using his own particular needs and preferences as a model for Tesla’s market? I think it’s possible. If so, we should be thankful that – besides the price – it’s fairly practical stuff.
TBH the Roadster doesn’t fit the hypothesis quite so well, unless he foresaw his
divorce and dating other women (which I am not
suggesting.) It still perfectly fits the corporate strategy and Elon’s broader interests, though.
Anyway, we now have Faraday Future’s opening move, and it’s a vision of an impractical, exotic toy for billionaires. This might be telling us something about their CEO, too.
@ James I’m on your site, with a little difference: I guess due to Elon Musks family he knows what a car needs to be a successor. In one of numberous interviews with him, he or someone of his team tolds that he had made a list for the Model S, which has to have more storage room, better control and userinterfaces, higher efficiency and so on.
That’s the very point which I highly miss on the Faraday Future concept, except the teaser “What if”, I don’t know why I should inverst or buy in such a car – it’s just more connected and probably fully autonous, which Tesla could do as well but it isn’t more practical.
I want a electric vehicle like the Bolt with the design, specifications and convenience of Tesla – that’s the Model III.