Faraday Future is back in the news after Chinese investor, and company founder Jia Yueting announced that the startup automaker has secured $1 billion in additional funding. A report from Yicai Global claims that Yueting made the announcement during an employee meeting in Los Angeles last week. Details on how Faraday secured the funding remains unclear, and given the company’s history of sketchy transactions, it’s easy to take this news with a grain of salt, at least until more details are revealed on where the new funding came from.

Skepticism can be a tricky thing, especially in a business like the auto industry. In the case of Faraday Future, it would be understandable for people to raise their eyebrows and wonder if Jia Yueting did secure $1 billion in additional funding for the company. The electric car start-up has had numerous missteps in the course of its short life, and for better or worse, Yueting has had a role in a lot of them. This is, after all, the same man who spread his tech business empire too thin, resulting in him losing his billionaire status in Forbe’s billionaires list. He’s also been the subject of numerous investigations from Chinese authorities for sketchy business practices, resulting in him getting blacklisted in China.

Recent reports also revealed that Yueting had driven Faraday Future into the ground because of careless spending and ambitious promises. A number of high-ranking executives have bailed on the company, and its massive gigafactory in Nevada has been reduced to nothing more than shattered dreams and broken promises.

So, yes, it hasn’t been a banner year for Yueting. Now we’re supposed to believe that he’s secured $1 billion in additional funding just because he claims he has? I’m sorry, but history tells us otherwise. We’ll believe it if he reveals where he got the money from. Until then, we’ll remain skeptical and take this claim with a bag full of salt.

References

Read our full review on the 2018 Faraday Future FF 91.