Tesla isn't the only sleek, forward-thinking electric car company in San Francisco. Waiting in stealth mode is Faraday Future.
Not much about the company is actually really known besides it being set up as a Tesla killer. In fact, news of its existence has only been circulating around online since its debut just one summer ago.
What we do know is that it is a well-funded company linked to Chinese investors headquartered in Los Angeles producing an electric vehicle to compete not just with Tesla but with other "mobility devices" as well.
"On January 4, 2016, Faraday Future will unveil a concept inspired by our design and engineering vision. The future of mobility is closer than you think. Come and see," the company teases on its website.
Since early November, the company has been leaking more and more info revealing that it will be constructing a $1 billion plant in the United States where all of its electric vehicles will be manufactured by 2017.
In an interview, the secretive company describes its product as "a car to some degree.... It's a mobility device, and when people interact with cars, there is of course the irrational desire to have it. The car is still going to be beautiful, as traditional car designers want to have," says Richard Kim, Faraday Future's design chief.
The fact that Faraday Future is choosing to conduct its first major trade show at CES in 2016 instead of, for example, the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, is quite telling. Even Nick Sampson, the company's VP of R&D, admits that its business model is not about selling cars off dealership showrooms.
"We envision this like a smart phone. The revenue starts once you get the device in the owners' hands. We're looking at subscriptions and apps and other opportunities," Sampson reveals.
The hiring choices reflect that trajectory, as well. Reportedly attracting former Tesla staff, the company has also hired across industries beyond that of just the auto business. Its employees hail from other companies such as Apple, SpaceX, and even Hulu. As a result, at the very least, what we could be seeing at CES next year might be the world's most connected, mass-produced electric car.
