Chinese-Backed Startup Targets Tesla With $1 Billion U.S. Plant
- California, Georgia, Louisiana and Nevada under consideration
- Faraday aims to introduce fully electric vehicle in 2017
Nick Sampson stands for a photograph at the headquarters of Faraday Future in Gardena, California, on Nov. 4, 2015.
hotographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergFaraday Future, the startup backed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, has big dreams of taking on Tesla Motors Inc., starting with a $1 billion investment in a new U.S. factory that will build electric cars starting in 2017.
Nick Sampson, a former Tesla director who is Faraday’s senior vice president of research and development, said Faraday plans to introduce its first electric car in two years and quickly follow with several other models. Faraday is based in Gardena, California, where it has been developing its first model with 400 employees. Jia Yueting is founder and chairman of Leshi Television, a popular Chinese online video site.