Is it true that Jia Yueting’s American car factory does not have any production equipment and only has one employee clocking in?

Just as he was about to enter the factory where he couldn't see anything, a crow flew out with flapping wings from the abandoned factory.

A fully loaded freight train roared past, but it went in the other direction at the track fork. The track leading to the factory was overgrown with weeds.

A yellow-haired kitten, seeing someone coming, was startled and got into the door of a factory building.

This is the "FF 91 high-end factory" of Faraday Future (FF) invested by Jia Yueting in Hanford, California, USA.

Faraday Future has just abandoned its plan to build its own factory in North Las Vegas, USA, and unveiled the leased old factory in August this year. This is Faraday Future’s only planned and first factory currently. It is located in an empty suburb between Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, more than 300 kilometers away from Faraday Future’s Los Angeles headquarters.

When reporters from The Paper came to this factory that had been abandoned for 16 years in early December, they found that although a new Faraday Future logo had been erected at the entrance of the factory, there was currently only one of the nearly 900,000 square feet of the factory. People are taking care of it.

"They have done nothing. There is no car-making equipment inside, nothing. There is only one safety engineer who goes to work at 9 a.m. every day, but he is not here all day." A local Franklin (pseudonym), a person familiar with the construction progress of Faraday Future’s factory, revealed to The Paper.

One afternoon in early December, when reporters waited for the engineer to drive into the factory, the engineer did not want to say more when asked about the progress of the factory's construction. "It's just getting started now," he said. He stayed in the factory for less than 3 minutes when he left something in the office.

Jia Yueting has stated many times that Faraday Future plans to deliver its first mass-produced car by the end of 2018.

But where this mass-produced car will roll off the assembly line is still unclear.

There are still "nail households" among the old tenants who have not yet moved out

In a corner of the factory, three or four Spaniards who cannot speak English are working hard. After some difficult communication, I found out that they were not employees of Faraday Future, but tenants who had not yet moved out.

This is already early December. According to the plan released by Faraday Future in August, in the following months, the FF 91 high-end factory will carry out various preparations before putting into production: including planning, renovation and license application. After existing tenants move out in late November, the company expects to begin extensive machine move-in work in early 2018.

The security guard who manages this old factory told The Paper that the real estate developer notified all tenants around August 22 to move out within 30 days. A tenant who rented 15,000 square feet just moved out in November. Move out, but the last tenant is unwilling to evacuate, and lawyers have now intervened. "You know, once a lawsuit is filed, things will not progress so fast. This is exactly what they want, they can delay the time. They already owe 10,000 US dollars in rent." The security guard said.

This factory has a history of 55 years. It was once a Pirelli tire manufacturing plant and was abandoned in 2001.

The Paper found out that this factory is an asset of Industrial Realty Group (IRG), a large real estate company in the United States. Its official website shows that the factory is for sale rather than lease, covering an area of ??approximately 900,000 square feet (approximately 275,000 square meters). However, in recent years, real estate developers have signed monthly rental agreements with some temporary tenants, dividing the factory into small spaces and renting them out.

“People from Faraday Future keep asking me when they will move out. But I don’t have an answer,” the security guard said. The security guard is employed by the IRG.

"Signed a 10-year lease at the beginning of the year"

Faraday Future took over the entire factory, but it also rented it from real estate developers instead of buying it.

Franklin revealed to The Paper that people from Faraday Future had inspected this factory as early as two years ago, but then they chose a piece of land in Nevada that was three times the size to build their own factory. " They secured many tax incentives from local governments.

”

According to reports, on December 10, 2015, Faraday Future announced that it would build a manufacturing factory in North Las Vegas, Nevada, with a total investment of US$1 billion and an area of ??3 million square meters. ft. Nevada’s state government approved a $335 million incentive package for Faraday Future, including $215 million in tax credits and abatements, and $120 million to improve infrastructure in the industrial area where the factory will be built.* **Expenses.

Later, Faraday Future revealed financial problems, and the construction of the factory was stalled. Local media quoted information from Kings County, California, as saying that Faraday Future returned to California in early 2017. , rented this former tire factory.

Faraday Future’s commitment to the local government at the time was to recruit nearly 1,300 three-shift employees in the California factory and achieve “zero-emission production” to help California become more green. Quickly achieve the goal of adding 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles by 2025.

Franklin said that compared with the US$1 billion investment in self-construction, Faraday Future only needs to spend US$30 million on leasing. Renovation and renovation of the factory. He also revealed that Faraday Future plans to rent here for 10 years, but he did not inform the rental fee.

A staff member of the real estate developer IRG confirmed to The Paper that this property in California is located in the area. The industrial land has been "fully leased" and is no longer for sale. In August this year, Faraday Future issued a press release stating that on the day of the opening of the new factory, nearly 400 FF employees and supporters spontaneously drove. Went to the new factory building 300 kilometers away to celebrate the opening of the company's new factory. Government officials from the California State Government, Hanford City Government and Kings County where the factory is located were also on hand to welcome Faraday Future's arrival.

“More than 350 designers and engineers came for cleaning that day, and they were indeed busy there for 8 hours a day. But it was just one day, Saturday, and then they were gone. "After it was there, eight or nine people came to paint and renovate it," Franklin said. Then it happened every few weeks until one day they never came back. Apart from this, they did nothing. ”

In November, a safety engineer was sent to work at the Faraday Future factory, but there was still no sign of starting the factory construction plan. He came to the factory around 9 a.m. every working day, and every day He may walk through the same door every time, but he is not here around the clock. He may negotiate with the government, designers, and police, and participate in some meetings.

The local government is also paying close attention to Faraday Future's construction. Plant progress.

According to a report by local media The Sentinel on November 16, the city’s building department stated that they have not received any plans so far.

According to The Business Journal on November 11. According to a report on March 13, Kings County noted Faraday Future’s recent actions such as firing its chief financial and technology executives, but “some officials are not concerned that this may curtail plans to build an auto plant in Hanford. ”

“They were a startup and needed to raise a lot of money. "Kings County Administrator Craig Pederson said.

In September 2017, Dag Reckhorn, FF's vice president of global production, visited the local area and pointed out that the company needs to obtain some permits before putting into production He is promoting these in the city. Information shows that Reckhorn is the general manager of FF 91 high-end factory strategy and execution.

In addition, Reckhorn also said that FF still needs to confirm funds before it can be put into production. He is aware of the past media. Reported on the company’s financial problems, but he said that they have learned from their mistakes and are studying these problems.

“They said mass production will be by the end of 2018, but I don’t think this is possible. "Franklin judged, "But there is nothing here now. It needs to be renovated first, power supply and electrical equipment need to be arranged, car manufacturing equipment needs to be moved in, etc. It will take at least a year to start recruitment and then start production. ”

“Things must be done as quickly as possible to accomplish this goal. "Franklin said.

The biggest variable is still funding.

Jia Yueting is seeking new financing for Faraday Future.

On December 13, The Verge reported that former employees revealed that unless new financing is introduced, Faraday Future’s remaining funds will only be enough to support the company until the end of this year. In order to keep the company, Jia Yueting is still meeting with potential investors and may have confirmed a new round of financing.