Electric car startup Faraday Future appears to be coming closer to being a challenge for Tesla, as it is set to unveil a car concept at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
The move will mark the debut of the California-based, Chinese-backed company's first concept vehicle, as well as its first entry and appearance at CES 2016, which will be held from Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas, Nev., iTech Post reported.
Faraday is focusing on offering electric cars that provide seamless and smart connectivity preferences, as well as unique vehicle model ownerships, in-vehicle contents and auto-navigation.
The startup is receiving support from Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting, who founded Leshi Internet Information & Technology and is listed by Forbes as China's 17th richest person, as he is estimated to have a fortune of $7 billion, according to Green Car Reports. Faraday apparently also has connections to LeTV, a Chinese media company that is operated by Jia, according to its incorporation papers.
The company operates out of a former Nissan research facility south of Los Angeles and has about 400 employees. Some of these employees use to work for Tesla, including Nick Sampson, the former head of Tesla's vehicle and chassis engineering program for the Model S, and Dag Reckhorn a former senior manufacturing executive for the electric automaker. Employees who use to work for BMW, General Motors and other major automakers have also joined Faraday in its effort to climb to the top of the electric car market.
Not much has been revealed about Faraday's concept car, except that the company wants to launch a single model in 2017 and plans on producing seven different car models, iTech Post reportted.
However, Sampson suggested in an interview with The Verge that the different models could include one for family road trips and another for commuting, and that Faraday might provide a subscription models so customers could request different vehicles for different uses, Green Car Reports noted. He also suggested that the electric cars would possess self-driving capabilities.
Faraday is current in the process of picking a location for its electric car factory, with possible spots including Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and California.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
