The dystocia FF91 is like the Chinese men's football

The four-yearly World Cup has finally begun.

Of course, it is no surprise that this is also the last dance of the 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, 35-year-old Messi, 39-year-old Alves, 38-year-old Silva, 37-year-old Modric, 35-year-old Cavani, and 34-year-old Suarez, Lewandowski and other "football gods".

So to some extent, this feast is still given a little pathos.

On the second day of the group stage, there was a huge "upset" that no one expected, and Saudi Arabia, who played almost half at home, defeated the aging Pampas Eagles Argentina 2-1 with an almost supernatural defensive and offensive performance.

Perhaps this is the charm of competitive sports.

In contrast, whenever I see a variety of fans in the broadcast footage who can come to the scene to cheer for their own team, I always think of our men's team.

"1.4 billion people, you can't even choose 11 to play."

"Except for the national team, all the other Chinese teams went."

Along with the trend, the above two sentences have become the most helpless self-blackening and ridicule recently, but they still cannot change the status quo that the men's football team and the World Cup are basically out of reach. As for when will it really qualify? It's like an ironic metaphysical question.

Coincidentally, the focus is back on the rim, and the recent difficult production of a legendary and storytelling smart electric car cannot help but associate it with the Chinese men's football team.

It is very interesting that the common characteristics of the two are that they constantly bring you hope that "it seems to be able to do", but they have proved their "crotch" again and again with practical actions.

Seeing this, some readers must have guessed its true appearance. Yes, it is FF91, the first and only product under Faraday Future, founded by "dream speaker" Jia Yueting.

The beginning of the story also began with a regulatory announcement issued by the ill-fated car company on Monday night local time.

Among them, the delivery time of the FF91's first mass-produced car is clearly marked, which is still "uncertain" and "not expected to occur in 2022".

The official reason is that it is "subject to various conditions, many of which are beyond our control, including the timing, scale and availability of additional financing".

In the most understandable words, it translates, "There is a lack of money, so it can't be made." ”

The regulatory announcement comes just days after Faraday Future announced that it had entered into a new standby equity credit line agreement with an affiliate of investment management firm Yorkville Advisors Global LP.

The loan, with an initial commitment of $200 million, can be increased to $350 million at the company's option, and is used to drive the launch and delivery of FF91. But obviously, even with the addition of this "hot money", it is still far from enough for FF91.

In fact, around the same time, Faraday Future also released its third-quarter earnings. Among them, it was made clear that more funds would be needed to maintain operations. It was then added that FF91 had received 369 bookings as of Nov. 17, down from 399 on June 30.

Looking at several key financial figures, the operating loss in the third quarter was approximately $81 million, compared to approximately $186 million in the year-ago quarter, and the net loss narrowed to $103.4 million from $303.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

As of September 30, the company had total assets of $541 million, including $32 million in cash, compared to $907 million at the end of last year.

Since inception, the company has experienced accumulated losses and negative cash flows from operations, with a cumulative deficit of approximately $3.3 billion as of September 30.

To sum up, the overall situation can be described as very unoptimistic. Further referring to the degree of "burning money" in car building, Faraday Future's current resources are completely a drop in the bucket.

What is more serious is that the confidence of the entire capital market in this car company has almost been lost. As of the close of trading on November 22, local time, its U.S. stock price only closed at $0.332, a decline of 2.35%, and the total market value was only 140 million. According to incomplete statistics, it has shrunk by more than 90 percent this year.

In terms of management, which is particularly dependent on when deciding fate, the "palace fight drama" that happened to Faraday Future has never stopped, and the protagonist naturally falls on Jia Yueting's head.

Similarly, with an announcement at the end of September, the automaker announced a definitive agreement with majority shareholder FF Top Holding LLC for financing and board restructuring.

Executive Chairman and Director Sue Swenson, Directors Scott Vogel and Jordan Vogel, have officially resigned as Directors and all other related positions in the Company. Instead, Adam He was appointed interim chairman.

Of course, as a melon-eating mass, I was a little confused when I suddenly saw the above slightly unfamiliar names alternating.

But after clarifying his thinking, it is not difficult to find that after a series of-for-tat, Jia Yueting, who was gradually marginalized earlier this year, and his henchmen have undoubtedly regained actual control of the company once again.

But precisely because of this, I wonder whether the return of the former is a good thing or a bad thing for Faraday's future?

After all, even now, no one can see his true face.

This turns back in time to 2014, when Jia Yueting, standing in the spotlight of the stage, shouted in front of everyone: "Let's suffocate for the dream!" At that time, LeEco, which he was in charge, really ushered in a short-term glory.

In addition to super mobile phones, super TVs, burdened with the expectations of many investors, Jia Yueting began to build a super car belonging to Chinese, that is, Faraday Future.

However, behind the glamorous appearance, what is hidden is a bubble that bursts with a poke. No one expected that defeat would come so quickly.

Then came 2017, when the plane door closed, Jia Yueting lost badly, left for the United States alone, and when he will return is unknown.

The former head of a Lenovo business empire paid a terrible price for his unrealistic dream of building a car. Everything ended sloppily in the form of a farce, and all that remained was the denunciation of domestic creditors and the tsunami of infamy.

Soon, the time is 2020, and the "reversal" continues.

When the open letter, titled "Working to start a business, restart my life, with my apologies, gratitude and commitments", appeared on Jia Yueting's Weibo homepage, everyone knew that the speaker was still struggling for his "dream of building a car".

More than 300 days later, through a backdoor listing, Faraday Future officially rang the bell on NASDAQ in the United States. After obtaining the endorsement of the capital market, the suffocating car company was revived, and the mass production of FF91 was also put on the agenda.

But at this moment, with the onset of the harsh winter, like a new reincarnation, it seems to have returned to the original point. Whether it is Jia Yueting, Faraday Future, or FF91, they have once again approached the edge of the cliff infinitely.

Faced with such a scene, I can't help but think of the thought-provoking paragraph in the well-known short report: "This car company will never be able to sell a car." So far, it has been nothing more than a bucket to raise money from American investors and pour it into a debt black hole created by its founder, Jia Yueting, China's best-known securities fraudster. ”

Perhaps from the beginning, everything mentioned above was an elaborate "scam".

Jia Yueting will never return to China, Faraday Future will never be profitable, and FF91 will never be mass-produced.

And the magic they have always had is still the same as the Chinese men's football team mentioned at the beginning of the article: it constantly brings you hope that "it seems to be able to do", but it has proved its "crotch" again and again with practical actions.

In the end, only the energy of the melon-eating masses is consumed...