Faraday Future, an electric car startup currently in deep financial trouble, is reportedly getting a new lease on life as the company announced just this Sunday that it has received a 50/50 joint venture partnership with The9, a Chinese online video game company. Per the partnership terms, The9 is reportedly willing to give up to $600 million to the joint venture, provided that Faraday Future use the money to make a new car for the Chinese market, and construct it in China.
The new car, which will be called the V9, is set to be released on the FF91, an ultra-luxury electric SUV the company has debuted back at CES 2017 after spending the last few years struggling to get it into proper production. Furthermore, The9 and Faraday Future also stated that through the partnership, the will be able to make around 300,000 cars per year, although where these cars will be built have not been disclosed.
Aside from the new car specially made for the Chinese market, the partnership will also allow Faraday Future to finally push the FF91 into US production, something the company has been struggling to do for quite some time now. Per an announcement of its own, The9 says that it will make the initial deposit of $5 million. This initial deposit will then be used by the EV company to "overcome its short-term cash flow difficulties and support its ongoing equity financing efforts." The Chinese video game company then said the rest of its $600 million promise is "contingent on satisfaction of funding conditions," although, at the moment, it's not clear what those conditions are.
Company lifeline
This announcement of the joint venture partnership comes just after the company revealed that it had sold off its Los Angeles headquarters in a bit to generate short-term cash to keep itself afloat, and just a few weeks after the electric vehicle company informed most of its employees on unpaid leave that they wouldn't be able to start working again.
Initially established back in 2014, Faraday Future originally made its first waves as a secretive startup, hoovering talent from the likes of Tesla, Apple, and just about every other traditional car manufacturer. Due to recent problems, including a failed deal with Chinese Conglomerate Evergrande, the company found itself in a bit of a tight spot, even having its workers work with reduced pay.
