Tata reportedly buys stake in Faraday Future amid executive departures

According to Gasgoo, Chinese media outlets are reporting Tata has purchased 10 per cent of Faraday Future for US$900 million ($1.2 billion).

If the reports are true, a healthy cash infusion could see the help stabilise the situation at the troubled EV manufacturer, which has undergone an exodus of senior personnel in recent weeks.

Last week Jalopnik reported Stefan Krause, Faraday Future's chief financial officer, left the company in mid-October. Krause joined Faraday in March, after serving executive roles at BMW and Deutsche Bank.

This was followed by a report in The Verge claiming Ulrich Kranz, chief technology officer, and Bill Strickland, vehicle line chief, had also left the firm.

Kranz formerly headed BMW 'i division', and only joined Faraday Future in July. Strickland previously led the team responsible for the current Ford Fusion, North American sibling to the Mondeo.

In May, Bloomberg reported Faraday Future was looking to raise around US$1 billion ($1.3 billion) in funding. Faraday Future's primary backer thus far has been Jia Yueting.

Ambitious expansion plans have led to financial troubles for Yueting and his LeEco group, which saw the media and streaming company branch out and launch its own electric car in direct competition with the Faraday Future FF91.

Tata could be looking to expand its electric vehicle technology portfolio with the investment, although it already has access to EV technology through its wholly-owned Jaguar Land Rover subsidiary, which is set to launch the I-Pace electric crossover soon.

Faraday Future abandoned its ambitious plans to build a US$1 billion ($1.3 billion) factory near Las Vegas, Nevada, in August. Instead, the company will lease a smaller factory in Hanford, California.

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