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NV Treasurer Questions Faraday's Future

Last month, Faraday Future broke ground on a $1 billion car factory in North Las Vegas.

That came after a special session of the Legislature in December where legislators sealed a $335 million deal to bring the electric car company to the state, which included $215 million in tax breaks.

But skeptics remain regarding the reality of the situation. 

Nevada State Treasurer Dan Schwartz said his office still has not received required documentation for the release of state funds to Faraday Future.

"We issue all the state's bonds, and my position is if these bonds aren't going to be paid, I'm not going to issue them," Schwartz said. "To issue the bond, we need a performance bond of about $75 million to guarantee payment." 

Schwartz' skepticism may also stem from what's happening across the globe in China. 

Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, who owns tech company LeEco, is developing several businesses at once, including smartphones, Internet TVs, streaming content and now electric cars, is one of Faraday Future's main financers. 

Public trading of the company, however, has been suspended since December. This, Schwartz said, is "troubling." 

"My sense is we're not getting the whole story," Schwartz said. "I'm not persuaded the money is there to complete the project ... and Faraday does not have real experience there building a car factory so they all add up to some questions." 

In order to move forward, Schwartz said his office needs a timetable of how the company plans to proceed, a $75 million performance bond and assurance that the funds are there to complete the project. 

Last week, a planning official with the city of North Las Vegas said that no building permits have been issued for the Faraday Future project, and was unable to comment on whether any have been sought. 

"Yes, it's possible the governor's been bamboozled, it's possible the Legislature didn't get all the facts, the answer is we don't know," Schwartz said. "I would love for Faraday Future to basically fess up to the governor. As I said, they have an obligation to the state of Nevada, to tell us what's going on." 

 

 

Dan Schwartz, Nevada State Treasurer 

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Prior to taking on the role of Broadcast Operations Manager in January 2021, Rachel was the senior producer of KNPR's State of Nevada program for 6 years. She helped compile newscasts and provided coverage for and about the people of Southern Nevada, as well as major events such as the October 1 shooting on the Las Vegas strip, protests of racial injustice, elections and more. Rachel graduated with a bachelor's degree of journalism and mass communications from New Mexico State University.