Faraday Future revealed its FF91 model at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, the company’s first production electric car. Its 130-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack gives the car a range of 378 miles. At a power output of 1,050 horsepower, the FF91 can go from zero to 60 mph in less than 2.4 seconds.
The reveal event at the Consumer Electronics Show did not go smoothly, however, as the FF91 failed to park itself during a live demonstration.
The FF91 comes equipped with four different cell modems from four major telecommunications carriers, which are supposed to keep the car connected at all times, anywhere. It also has rising lidar sensor that ascends from the hood of the car, as well as touch sensitive panels on the B-pillar, the vertical roof support structure between the front and rear doors. The lidar sensor is a crucial part of the technology that allows for autonomous driving modes, as it projects lasers to bounce off of objects in order to create a fast, accurate 3D scan of the surrounding environment. The FF91 is the first car to attempt to package all the above components into a single vehicle.
According to Jia Yueting, a Chinese billionaire and CEO of LeEco, as well as a substantial supporter of Faraday, this could make the FF91 much pricier than its competitors. In a recent interview, Jia said that the electric car will cost “less than 2 million Chinese yuan,” which is around $290,000.
There is speculation that the price Jia referred to could reflect taxes, shipping costs, and import duties, should Faraday build the FF91 outside of China. However, if this figure is the FF91’s international price, then it is vastly more costly than its rival electric cars, and several other new non-electric cars as well.
A Tesla Model S P100D, with a range of 315 miles and a 100 kilo-Watt hour battery, currently sells at $135,700. While Lucid Motors had not announced the price for its new luxury sedan, Air, it is thought to be closer to $100,000 when it goes in to production next year.
In any case, the FF91 must reflect the cost of lithium-ion cells in its sizable battery pack, as well as its numerous autonomous-driving components.
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