• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechFaraday Future

Mysterious Electric Car Startup Ramps up Hiring, Factory Plans

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 13, 2016, 9:09 PM ET
Courtesy of Faraday Future

Faraday Future, the electric vehicle startup that wants to take on Tesla, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for a factory in North Las Vegas. Although the company plans to begin grading at the site in less than a month and has even started hiring there, it still isn’t entirely clear what it will build or how it will make money.

The Los Angeles-based company plans to manufacture an electric car, that part is clear. But there is no prototype or specifics yet on what kinds of cars it might produce. It has developed a flexible design that could be used for different kinds of vehicles. This means it could produce both small and large passenger cars, or even a race car for that matter, using the same underlying design. The blueprints allow for rows of batteries to be added or removed, which can alter the wheelbase, the car’s weight, and its efficiency, the company says.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about technology.

Officials speaking at the ceremony didn’t reveal any new details about Faraday’s Future’s plans like whether the cars will be sold or leased via a subscription-based model. Previously, Faraday executives told Fortune that their car will priced like a luxury vehicle and that it could involve a new business model like shared ownership by several people or access by subscription. Faraday Future has said it’s open to either.

The groundbreaking ceremony did provide a progress report of sorts and a few more details about the facility. The 3 million-square-foot factory is located on a 900-acre parcel at the Apex Industrial Park. The company says it will invest $1 billion in the project and hire 4,500 people over a 10-year period as outlined in an agreement passed by Nevada lawmakers in December for $215 million in tax incentives.

At least half of those hires will be from Nevada, Dag Reckhorn, the company’s vice president of global manufacturing, said during the groundbreaking ceremony. The company has made a few important hires including Andrew DeHaan, a former director at Tesla, as plant director. Michael Johnson, who worked at Ford and automotive supplier Detroit Manufacturing Systems, was hired at the plant’s director of logistics.

Faraday Future also hired a Nevada-based recruiter to help find qualified people to work in manufacturing, administrative, engineering and communications. The company also says it has sourced more than 90% of the parts for its first vehicle from global suppliers.

This electric car can go from 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds:

“We’re moving very quick for a project of this size,” Reckhorn said. “This project is big and complicated, and yet our timeline remains aggressive. Our aim is to complete a project that would traditionally take four years and we want to do it in half the time, and we still want to do a great job.”

Faraday Future executives have used words like fast, aggressive, and flexible before. The company, which currently employs more than 700 people, plans to hire hundreds more in the next several years. It’s ability to attract talent and ramp up operations so quickly has been its primary selling point to anyone who will listen, including the media, politicians, suppliers, and potential partners.

In January, Faraday Future unveiled its FFZero1, a futuristic, single-seat electric vehicle concept car with an embedded smartphone in the steering wheel and a top speed of 200 miles per hour at CES, the annual consumer electronics industry trade show. The car and splashy unveiling was meant to reinforce the idea that the company had a transformative vision and a deep pool of talent. It has also emphasized ties through its owner, Yueting, to his Chinese online entertainment company Leshi Internet Information & Technology, also known as LeEco.

The big reveal provided many clues as what Faraday planned to produce, but didn’t illuminate any clear direction. And it failed to answer many of critical questions that left many who attended scratching their heads about whether the company would become the next big thing or fade away.

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg adjusts an avatar of himself during a company event in New York City on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. (Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Meta may unwind metaverse initiatives with layoffs
By Andrew NuscaDecember 5, 2025
30 minutes ago
C-SuiteFortune 500 CEO Interview
Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Chris Boerner says company culture was the missing piece of his ‘patent cliff’ plan
By Diane BradyDecember 5, 2025
2 hours ago
Co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., Jensen Huang attends the 9th edition of the VivaTech trade show at the Parc des Expositions de la Porte de Versailles on June 11, 2025, in Paris.
C-SuiteNvidia
Before running the world’s most valuable company, Jensen Huang was a 9-year-old janitor in Kentucky
By Eva RoytburgDecember 5, 2025
2 hours ago
Future of WorkBrainstorm Design
The workplace needs to be designed like an ‘experience,’ says Gensler’s Ray Yuen, as employees resist the return to office
By Angelica AngDecember 5, 2025
3 hours ago
Four years ago, BKV started buying up the two Temple power plants in Texas—located between Austin and Dallas—which now total 1.5 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity—enough to power more than 1.1 million homes, or a major data center campus. There is room to expand.
Energypower
How a Texas gas producer plans to exploit the ‘mega trend’ of power plants for AI hyperscalers
By Jordan BlumDecember 5, 2025
3 hours ago
Big TechSpotify
Spotify users lamented Wrapped in 2024. This year, the company brought back an old favorite and made it less about AI
By Dave Lozo and Morning BrewDecember 4, 2025
14 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
24 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
‘Godfather of AI’ says Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right about the future of work—but he predicts mass unemployment is on its way
By Preston ForeDecember 4, 2025
19 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he works 7 days a week, including holidays, in a constant 'state of anxiety' out of fear of going bankrupt
By Jessica CoacciDecember 4, 2025
19 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nearly 4 million new manufacturing jobs are coming to America as boomers retire—but it's the one trade job Gen Z doesn't want
By Emma BurleighDecember 4, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Health
Bill Gates decries ‘significant reversal in child deaths’ as nearly 5 million kids will die before they turn 5 this year
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.