Well, that ended quickly. After Faraday Future spent last week firing the first shots in an unusual spat with its now-former chief financial officer, rumors emerged that Jaguar Land Rover parent company Tata Motors had invested $900 million in the electric car startup. The timing seemed highly suspect, and now Tata is out with a statement calling the news “not true.”
The unconfirmed report emanated from Gasgoo, a Chinese automotive news aggregator, which said earlier this week that Faraday “managed to raise 900 million dollars from Indian Tata Group and the money accounted for 10 percent of its shares.”
When Jalopnik inquired about the report, which suggested Faraday’s valuation is an incredible $9 billion, both Tata and Faraday declined to comment.
Now, on Wednesday, Tata has clarified to the Daily News and Analysis in India that it’s completely untrue.
Mumbai based Tata Motors has denied investing US$ 900 million (Rs. 5,800 crore) by buying 10% stake in American electric car start-up Faraday Future, as claimed by certain sections of media. The Chinese consumer electronic giant LeEco backed start up Faraday Future is rumoured to have been valued at US$9 billion and is a rival of premium electric car maker Tesla.
A Tata Motors spokesperson said, “ The news is not true and hence we do not have any comment”
A spokesperson for Faraday Future didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Without the investment, Faraday remains in the same position it was last week: struggling to generate new funding to stay afloat.
Update (12:10 p.m.): A FF spokesperson sent along the following statement:
We will not comment on any speculation, ongoing discussions, or negotiations regarding investment in Faraday Future.