Electric carmaker Faraday Future halts work on Nevada plant
The North Las Vegas plant was due to produce the FF 91 electric supercar.
The FF 91 was due to be produced at the Nevada plant.
Electric vehicle startup Faraday Future has halted plans to build a $1 billion factory in Nevada amid money troubles plaguing former LeEco CEO Jia Yueting, who's backing the project.
The plant in North Las Vegas was due to produce Faraday Future's first car, the FF 91 flagship electric crossover-hatchback. But plans to produce the car in Nevada have been put on hold, the Los Angeles-based company said in a statement Monday.
"We have decided to put a hold on our factory at the Apex site in North Las Vegas. We remain committed to the Apex site in Las Vegas for long-term vehicle manufacturing," the statement read.
Faraday said it's shifting its focus on another facility that promises an earlier production date.
The move comes a week after a Shanghai court froze $182 million in assets of Jia's due to missed loan payments by LeEco. Jia resigned in May as chief executive of LeEco, a Chinese tech giant that tried to make a big splash with its debut in the US. In October, the company debuted a smart TV, phone and self-driving car, as well as services to run on and connect its devices.
But by November, reports surfaced the company was tightening its belt. In April, it said it had scrapped its $2 billion bid to buy US TV maker Vizio.
The FF 91 is a 1,050-horsepower supercar that can accelerate to 60 mph in 2.39 seconds. It'll also have some degree of semi-autonomous capability. When it eventually reaches production, it could cost as much as $200,000.
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