Faraday Future Shifts Gears: From Selling 15 Cars to Introducing Robots for Sale
Faraday Future is now offering a robot priced at $89,900 as part of its latest strategic shift. Following significant struggles, the beleaguered electric vehicle manufacturer is promoting a range of robots, including humanoid, quadruped, and robotic arm models. This change comes as the company seeks to recover its financial standing and improve its public image.
This pivot isn’t surprising. Faraday Future generated considerable enthusiasm before unveiling its first production-ready electric vehicle at CES 2017. However, over the past nine years, both the company and its founder, YT Jia, faced numerous financial challenges. An array of lawsuits, internal struggles, layoffs, and money-related confusion halted many of its initiatives; consequently, it reported sales of merely 15 or 16 vehicles by January 2025.
However, the company made a comeback at CES that year, announcing a new electric minivan and a “renewed start.” With YT Jia reinstated as the sole global CEO in May through a broader executive reshuffling, the term “renewed” may be subject to interpretation. Faraday Future continues to push its electric vehicle agenda, having completed the first pre-production model of its FX Super One MPV van in December. Yet, it appears to be drawing inspiration from Tesla by focusing efforts on robotics.
Recently, Faraday Future unveiled more details about its robotics offerings. Among them is a quadruped named Navi, aimed at children learning embodied AI, starting at just under $2,000—though a custom 3D-printed dog head could incur additional costs. Additionally, there’s a new humanoid model known as Futurist, which stands 5’8″ and incorporates NVIDIA’s full-body motion control system, priced near $90,000. The company is also selling a professional-grade robotic arm termed a “mobile manipulator product,” though pricing for this model is not public, suggesting a potentially hefty cost for business clients.
Despite the steep prices and a somewhat tumultuous history, Faraday Future is optimistic about sales. According to their latest update, they anticipate shipping over 100 robotics units in June and predict that total shipments for the first half of the year will exceed an original goal of 220 units. This is a notable improvement from selling just 15 vehicles.
