Mysterious Chinese-backed electric car startup Faraday Future has hired an experienced executive away from Ferrari [NYSE:RACE], one of the best signs yet the company is serious about entering the auto industry.
The company has brought onboard Marco Mattiacci, reports Business Insider. Mattiacci is best known for his short stint in 2014 as Ferrari's Formula One team principal, but he previously led Ferrari's North American and Asia Pacific operations.
Faraday is expected to make the announcement tomorrow, at which time Mattiacci's role will likely be explained. Not much is known about Faraday; even the name of its CEO has remained a mystery, but the company now employs roughly 700 in Southern California. The company has also started production of a car plant outside Las Vegas, and it's been reported the company may start building a second plant located in California.
At the groundbreaking for Faraday Future's production facility in North Las Vegas (April 13, 2016)
Additionally, Michigan officials said recently that Faraday has approached them about testing autonomous vehicles in the state. Faraday's plans were revealed because automakers must request manufacturer license plates if they want to test cars on the state's roads. Michigan says Faraday initially contacted the state in January and that it has since applied for manufacturer license plates.
According to The Detroit News, Faraday been testing early mules for the past year. It's assumed the company is ready to progress to prototypes of upcoming production models now.
So far Faraday has only shown the world a 1,000-horsepower electric supercar concept. While we won’t see the supercar in production, its platform is thought to be a modular design that will underpin more conventional cars from the company. The first could be shown as early as next year.