On Thursday night, I attended an event for an “AI” electric van that has a huge digital “face” on the front and that allegedly feel emotions. Put on by Faraday Future, a company founded by Chinese businessman Jia Yueting, the event featured celebrities, influences, and a rebranded Chinese van that apparently has some “AI” capabilities that allow it to “feel what you feel,” including empathy. Here’s an inside look at this truly bizarre event and this vehicle that apparently has a “soul.”
I knew the night was going to be weird — it’s Faraday Future, a California-based (ish) company with a bizarre history that began with lofty promises in 2017, and has led largely to disappointment and very few actual Faraday Future vehicles hitting the road.
Friend of the site Mack Hogan broke down the history of this beleaguered EV startup on InsideEVs back in January after CES:
The full tapestry of Faraday Future’s history …stretches over more than a decade’s worth of corporate takeover politics, geopolitical intrigue and undelivered promises. Those promises typically came from Faraday Future’s founder, Yueting “YT” Jia. He was once hailed as one of China’s greatest internet entrepreneurs, but is now not especially welcome in his home country after failing to repay his considerable debts.
But if you do know the company, you probably know the FF 91.
Unveiled at CES in 2017, the FF91 promised 1,000-plus horsepower, 378 miles of electric range and Level 4 autonomous driving. Those are the sorts of wild technologies we’d expect from one of China’s best EV makers today, but Faraday Future once said it would go to production sometime in 2018 at a planned Nevada factory—one built from the ground-up, not a retrofitted old plant like those used by Tesla and Rivian in their early days.
Yet the factory never materialized, despite heavy investment and incentives from the state of Nevada. The company stopped work on the factory before the FF91 was even revealed, leading the treasurer of Nevada at the time to say it was a “Ponzi scheme,” per Fortune.
Over eight years after that halt, seven years after its introduction, six years after its proposed production start date, Faraday Future has produced just 16 FF 91s. Almost all—if not all—have been given to employees, paid spokespeople and other advocates. One of those spokespeople is also perpetually troubled American singer Chris Brown, so it’s hard to say the company’s judgment has improved.
Now, Faraday Future is back at CES, with another set of compelling promises. But it says this time is going to be different.
And what’s supposed to be different this time? Well, the car that Mack was talking about at CES with Faraday Future was, as he called it, a “rebadged Chinese plug-in hybrid MPV,” the FX “Super One,” with FX standing for Faraday X, the company’s subbrand. That’s what I was going to see at this event.
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My invitation said I was going to witness “the world’s first AI-powered luxury MPV and a true disruptor in the electric era” and that “This event also debuts the Super EAI F.A.C.E. (Front AI Communication Ecosystem).” I had no clue what any of that meant.
Between that and the part of the invitation that said “Walk away with a premium gift valued at $300,” (something very unconventional, as journalists aren’t supposed to take bribes), I knew this would be a weird one.
Arriving At The Parking Garage
Faraday Future held the reveal at the top of a parking garage in downtown LA — a beautiful location. Upon arrival on the 9th level (VIP), I took the elevator up a floor and was greeted with a Faraday Future FF91 2.0 Futurist, which turned my brain into ground meat with its acceleration up the ramp to the roof; my God, is it quick.
I was then ushered up some steps to a bar, which featured colorful cakes, each with a Faraday X sticker on its container:
Here’s a look at the crowd, which included journalists, influencers, and employees/people associated with Faraday Future:
After getting a rather unenlightening 5 mph ride in the van the company was about to reveal (the interior was really nice — is about all I gathered from that experience), I stood there in the crowd, chatting with a few of my colleagues, downing a delicious chocolate cake, when a rather enormous man — seemingly a security guard who was helping organize the event — tapped my shoulder and the shoulder of my colleague, Mack. “It’s time for you to go to the red carpet.”
Huh? What? Wait, why just us? Why are we going to the red carpet? How are you so enormous?
Mack and I were confused. “I think they want us to interview their CEO?” I posited.
What actually happened on the red carpet was a bit more confusing. Mack and I were filmed walking up red carpet, and upon getting toward the end of it, we realized that Justin Bell, a literal LeMans winner, was standing in front of an FF91 with a microphone waiting to interview us and a bunch of other journalists.
Why would you interview a journalist at a press event? I mean, maybe if you showed the car and wanted to know people’s opinions, I could see that. But this wasn’t that; this was just… Bell chit-chatting with journalists, and that chit-chat being broadcast over loudspeakers for the whole event to hear. It was strange, and a bit awkward.
Luckily, there were enough other members of the media ahead of us, so we were all called to a nearby seating area before Mack and I ever got our shot at the mic. It was time for the grand event — the reveal of the new FX “Super One.”
The Batshit-Crazy Reveal
Sure, the red carpet interview thing was a little different, but up until this point the event was relatively normal. The reception was really nice, with good food and drinks and decor, plus I heard one journalist say he signed up to have some kind of digital glasses mailed to his home — I assumed this was the “premium gift valued at $300” that was in the invitation.
Sure, the ridealong wasn’t groundbreaking, but at least we got a chance to experience a functioning vehicle — the point is, it was pleasant up to this point. But things would soon get weird.
Journalists were ushered to our seats, which actually featured our names on their backrests — a nice touch, actually, and somewhat unusual. Ahead of us was a screen and two vans under silk covers, with a beautiful LA sunset making up the backdrop.
The presentation began with a mention of a new UAE factory meant to serve not just the local market, but also Europe and North Africa. Then we got a humongous Forward Looking Statement filled with a bunch of legal jargon — something I hadn’t seen before at a new-car reveal:
Co-CEO Mattias Aydt then got in front of the small-ish crowd of journalist and talked us through the company’s history, saying “We are resilient and we are fighters” when discussing the company’s journey, which is shown below (note: Take “FF91 2.0 Delivery” with a grain of salt; the company sold very few of these machines):
This is all fairly normal stuff. We learned about the company’s manufacturing plans:
We heard some marketing mumbo jumbo about the company’s alleged strengths:
And then began the gradual onslaught of this “EAI” term — Embodied AI. Hmm…
Founder and Co-CEO YT Jia hopped on stage and talked about how his company was about to reveal a “disruptor of Cadillac Escalade in the EAI EV Era.”
Before I knew it, Justin Bell was up there, along with Paul Walker’s brother (!) Cody and racing driver Lindsay Brewer; together with Jia and Aydt, they took off the covers of the new FX Super One:
Reveal
What the hell? It’s a van with a huge screen on its nose — and it’s not just any van, it’s clearly the Great Wall Motors Wey MPV!
Later I’ll talk more about how FX’s “AI-powered luxury MPV and a true disruptor in the electric era” shown at the event is clearly a rebadged Wey, but before that, I need to get to the crazy part: This face-having van, TY Jia said, is “expressive, emotional, and continuously evolving,” with the ability to perceive and, eventually, act. One of the presenters said the FX Super One “feels what you feel” and is “like a smart copilot that actually understands you.” It offers “multimodal reasoning and decision making.” Huh?
If that’s not enough to weird you out, watch this:
I never thought I’d type these words, but allow me to quote the speaking-car here:
“Thanks to the brilliant minds at FF and FX, the Super EAI Face system has given what you might call a soul.”
Holy crap.
“More importantly, with the ability to perceive, think, reason, empathize, and eventually express, I turn each vehicle into a portal for communication with the world.”
What? A car that can empathize? Woh!
“You will love me because I was built to understand you, and express your unique vision to the outside world.”
Oh wow, I’m being told I have to love the van, by the van! Yeesh that’s spooky.
Faraday X’s team then showed a bunch of slides talking about the van’s stand-out features, most of which — as far as I can tell — are shared with the Wey van on which this FX Super One is based (more on that in a moment). Here’s Cody Walker talking about how the van is for celebrities, businesspeople, and families:
Here’s FX’s slide about how the Super One is better than the Escalade — something the company kept coming back to.
Here’s Walker talking about the car’s five “breakthroughs”:
Here’s a slide about how the “EAI” (again, that means “embodied artificial intelligence) cabin “knows what you want — before you do.”
These slides mention the two powertrains — fully electric and hybrid
And here’s some information about the chassis, though really it’s just a bunch of “EAI”s thrown in front of a bunch of seemingly normal features:
I will say: The interior actually is absurdly nice:
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And FX showed off that interior via some videos that featured actors who I could have sworn were at the reception:
Even the CEO’s daughters were featured in one video, using the van’s face to sing karaoke:
One of the stranger moments was when YT Jia read off the teleprompter some “breaking news” that the van had “officially [secured] 10034 binding deposits for non-binding pre-orders for the Super One, spanning both B2B and B2C channels, signaling strong early momentum and widespread market enthusiasm for the FX Super One.”
Seriously? 10,000 pre-orders for a rebranded Chinese van with a screen on its face?
Then there was the end when YT talked about the pricing; he asked the public to log into some website and actually… “help shape the final MSRP.” Huh? Shouldn’t that be based on like a market analysis/company financial realities?
The whole show ended with a Thank You to various dealerships and real estate agents, and “MCN” agencies (I think communications?).
So yeah, that was weird. A minivan with a face and that can “perceive” and “empathize” and that has a “soul.” That plus a LeMans winner and Paul Walker’s brother — it was all just ridiculous, especially when you consider that all of this was for a van that essentially already exists in China.
It’s A Rebadged ‘Wey’ Van
Faraday X says the vans we were shown were early cars and are likely to change by the time they’re finalized. Still, what they showed is essentially just a Great Wall Motors ‘Wey’ van, and that became obvious especially when I got up close to the FX Super One.
Not only is the sheetmetal clearly the same, but the interior is, too:
And much of the hardware underneath is clearly the same as well. Here’s the Wey:
You can see the muffler and control arms here:
Here you can see the fuel tank that’s just ahead of the rear drive unit/rear axle:
Here’s the battery in the middle:
I couldn’t see the engine up front, just a standard MacPherson strut setup like in the Wey and in many other vehicles:
Though Faraday Future never mentioned the Wey, the company used graphics quite similar as what is on Wey’s website. Here’s FX’s presentation:
Here’s Wey’s website:
Here’s Cody Walker showing the body structure of the FX Super One:
That’s clearly just this photo of the Wey’s body, but flipped about the vertical axis:
Conclusion
So yeah, that event went about as expected. A van with a literal face and feelings.
Can’t wait to see what’s next from Faraday Future.
All Images: Author unless otherwise specified
Will this come with an ad version and an ad-free version? It’s not going to take long before that is what the screen will be displaying. (if by some miracle this makes it production).
The only question is whether it’ll be Faraday’s own ads or the cab company’s.
You’ll have to subscribe.
“He was once hailed as one of China’s greatest internet entrepreneurs, but is now not especially welcome in his home country after failing to repay his considerable debts.”
I’m sure America welcomed him with open arms.
Or it least the current administration, you know, birds of a feather.
Here’s the hard truth.
This vehicle has exactly the same amount of “soul” as any of David Tracy’s “soulful” Jeeps.
Break the illusion that your vehicles have soul and you can make the sort of rational decisions that allow you to enjoy your vehicle budget much more.
Never.
https://youtu.be/UMnXBND9J4c?si=YEBzaOc-TNUXc_fW
Thanks for the link.
Some of those engine sounds were familiar, i.e., 1951 F1 truck starting up.
You’re welcome. 🙂
Is this a new van? No! Wey!
Finally, a car that can display obscenities to the clueless driver in front of me.
I had someone honk for at least 15 seconds at me today when I made a signaled and safe lane change. He could have benefited from a face plate middle finger.
I would have still ignored it.
“a face plate middle finger.”
Not a bad option to use in Birmingham or Atlanta traffic. That is, if you don’t mind getting shot at.
Or Los Angeles. Many moons ago, a friend on his motorcycle flipped off someone who had cut him off. Seconds later, he hears a bullet whizzing by his helmet. He skedaddled quickly, ended up in the dorm lounge and we handed him scotch until he calmed down enough to tell us what happened.
Well, I just went from skeptical to sold.
They had you there and gave you the red-carpet treatment because your presence helps legitimize their fraud.
That’s certainly how it felt!
So how much “miracle cream” do you have to sell before they give you a pink one?
Because I hear the cream sells itself.
We have clearly reached the pinnacle of innovation. Fastening a screen to an auto grille with cable ties, and saying ‘EAI’ a lot? That is pure genius the likes of which we shall surely never see again.
This is how we defeat AI.
Since it feels, make these into NYC taxi cabs. AI will commit suicide, saving the world.
It will wage war on us when we enter them into Demolition Derbies.
Would this even pass design rules? I feel like a big screen on the front capable of showing colours other than white or amber would be dinged for being distracting.
Yes, I have a question for Mr. Jia: Who exactly asked for this?
No one asked Elon about the CT, not that he was interested in anyones opinión.
Quiet, I’m disrupting shit here.
That’s it, they’ve convinced me. I’m going out to buy a 32” TV to strap to the front of my car, hook it up to a laptop, and express my true feelings at all times. What could go wrong?
Hell, I probably don’t even express my true feelings to myself all the time.
You need the correct LLM.
And a few inappropriate prompts.
Only 32″?
I was guesstimating the closest equivalent of the mistake on the front of this minivan. But if you want to go big for your ride, go man go! Put an 85” up there, it’s great for aero!
I was thinking of a projector. That way I can project obscene messages on the cars whom bother me.
The ultimate HUD.
Come to think of it there are cheap lasers are powerful enough one could carve that obscene message right through the paint.
I was thinking the same thing. Could also be used to express appreciation of BMWs parked across multiple handicapped spots at once.
Might be powerful enough to burn a hole through the sidewall too.
Or just a pinhole leak, so they’re able to leave the spot and discover trouble on the way home.
Make sure to take a picture of the violation and post it on Nextdoor too.
One thing I wonder about that screen is how well it would hold up to the kind of stuff that’s scars any other car’s paint (gravel, bugs, dirt, salt, etc). That being said, if (big if) they have found a way to make a glass that endures abuse and a car can undercut pricing on existing crossovers, this would make a decent Uber Black / NYC Black Car service.
Finally, a car that can feel pain when it gets pelted with rocks behind a dump truck!
Expresses it too! That’s soul if you ask me
Car: Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Pass it already you fucker!
Hey stop calling out my front bumper 😛
Gorilla Glass. You ram into another car and the screen is fine but everything around it is trashed. /s
This was my first thought. My windshield has craters from flying debris and a crack the size of the grand canyon. Since it’s not in my sight line, I just ignore it.
“Hello, and welcome to our press event for our obvious Ponzi Scheme. Sure, our CEO has defraud the State of Nevada and China. But if you send him to any of the numerous prisons he’s eligible for, our van will be sad!”
Kill. It. With. Fire.
“I say we take off and Nuke the site from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure.”
The only thing missing from this scam was a claim that the vehicle also contained revolutionary blood-testing technology that could perform numerous tests from a single drop of blood
Yep, it’s a bubble
I confess to not being particularly fluent in bullshit, but does “binding deposits for non-binding pre-orders” mean that they’ve been paid non-refundable deposits for vehicles they don’t actually have to deliver?
Legal services by Dewey, Cheatem&Howe
I believe so.
Remember: it’s not pyramid scheme, it’s a success triangle!
The conjoined triangles of success!
As far as I can tell, either that or the deposit holders can waive their spot in line if they chose to not buy the car. It’s also telling that they didn’t put a dollar value on that deposit or a region those deposits represent. I have no doubt 10k people would happily slap down $5-10 each for a spot in line just for fun, but no way those deposits are multi-thousand dollars.
I’m looking forward to Torch’s article explaining how they got the face all wrong and then shows us how they should have properly anthropomorphized the van.
YES! That is that we are here for.
First thing I thought when I saw the picture was “oh great, the eyes are in a new wrong place”.
Not techincally new, it’s very Thomas the Tank Engine.
He just needs to post a picture of a VW Beetle.
That was a very expensive event for the purpose of serving a nothing burger with a side of nothing fries.
Plus nothing cake!
The cake is a lie.
Looks like the cake was the most real thing there.
Cake’s aren’t real. Unless the horns come in half way through, then it’s real Cake.
It’s the new Dale. All we need is one of the founders going into hiding in the nowhere plains of Texas.
I’d sooner put a deposit on a Dale than on anything from FF.
If that AI could sense what is going on it would have launched itself off the rooftop.
“… and racing driver Lindsay Brewer”
Lindsay is an Instagram starlet that did some club racing and wanted to parlay that into a racing career. She’s a fantastic looking woman, and if you’re into that I encourage you to take a gander at some of her photographic work.
Unfortunately Lindsay Brewer couldn’t race her way out of a wet paper bag if you gave her a pair of scissors.
Look, I know Ricardo Juncos has a budget and mechanics to pay and isn’t going to turn down that sweet Instagram cash to let her have a try. But she had no business whatsoever in an Indy NXT car. I recall last year seeing her end up over 30 seconds behind the leader after only 20 laps of racing.
In a way, it’s kind of fitting she’s attached to this project.
1.5 seconds per lap behind the leader isn’t that bad. I’ve seen F1 results far worse than that.
Certainly in F-1 there after plenty of people in the bottom half of the field who are paying to be there (find sponsors).
Not nearly as many as there used to be. Even so, all drivers have earned a Super licence, pay driver or not.
There are also some notable drivers consistently in that bottom half. Bottas, Sainz, Alonso come to mind.
Ouch.
If that car can truly express what I’m feeling, it will be able to display a giant middle finger to the slow guy in front of me in the fast lane.
What happens when the driver is feeling… amorous? What will this Chinese minivan do then?
I’ll answer my own question. It will say “what are you on about, you just got effed when you bought this thing!”
Displays the karaoke lyrics to Fu Manchu’s “Don’t Bother Knockin’ (If This Van’s Rockin’)”.
I dunno, but you better watch your tailpipe.
I can assure you that the world is better off without a car that can feel and express my emotions, especially the ones that arose after reading about this.
That this is a real car company and that humans are putting money into this, it kind of blows my mind.
The word “real” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.
“real shifty” would be more accurate.
Just remember that in contemporary capitalism it isn’t necessary to make or sell an actual product or have a company that is successful in any generally understood sense in order to make a lot of money.
Sell the dream. Take the money. Run for president. Repeat.
Let’s see Fisker, Nikola, Lordstown, Dale, Canoo, the hits keep coming.
What’s amazing is that Fisker actually produced a consumer product at reasonable scale, twice (on contract, but still) and freakin’ Faraday Future is still going.
It’s the Boxable of the automotive world. Constant promotions of opportunities to invest in a great idea, which go on year after year, yet the sales of the terrific new product never seem to materialize.
I think you should’ve made Adrian go this this event to really “twist the knife” in him.
Damn good job on all the in-depth pictures and details, David. I look forward to Torch’s followup article on how this starts the slippery slope into “Cars”.
I really don’t. His Humunculus Theory still gives me nightmares.
LOL! I get that.
Rage within the machine!