Faraday Future Is Somehow Still Alive And Testing The FX Super One, And I'm Scared

Almost exactly a year ago, I attended what will probably always be the funniest, worst, most surreal press event I've ever been to: the reveal of the Faraday Future FX Super One minivan. After an hour of interminable presentations about AI technology and other nonsense, some of which was with Justin Bell and Paul Walker's brother at the mic, they wheeled out a rebadged Chinese van with a giant screen on the front to display an AI assistant that spoke to the audience. It was a disaster.

Faraday Future is apparently importing all of the components of the Wey Gaoshan — a third-rate van made by Great Wall Motor in China — and then assembling the vans here in California before allegedly selling them to real customers. Aside from that screen on the front, different badges and some stickers on the taillights, the FX Super One is identical to the Gaoshan. The company said the F.A.C.E. screen is "a window [for the Vehicle Embodied Agent] to perceive, interpret and communicate with the outside world," and that wasn't even close to the weirdest thing they said.

Daniel Golson / Jalopnik

You would think that Faraday Future would have completely flamed out by now, but somehow the automaker is still alive and kicking. The company will take your pre-order dollars for its van (and for the FF91, which is apparently still a thing), though it has been delayed because FF is switching it to an 800-volt architecture, and also because it doesn't have the necessary funding. No biggie. As with any completely normal and real company, Faraday Future has been showing off so many robots it promises will be built. But don't worry, it's still focused on the van! A few weeks ago, Faraday patented a range-extender system for the FX Super One, and it is rigorously testing the van in California.

I know this first-hand because today, not only did I see a manufacturer-plated FX Super One parked in West Hollywood, I saw the same van again just forty minutes later, this time even closer to my home. Mom, can you pick me up? I'm scared.

As you can see from the photos, this white FX Super One is missing that AI-enabling screen in the nose, instead having a big ugly grille with a mesh pattern made of a repeating Faraday Future logo. This makes it even more obvious that FF just slapped its logos onto an existing van without changing anything. I've seen photos of a bunch of different FX Super Ones driving around California, and none of them have had the screen. I think the company did say the screen would be an option, but this doesn't give me hope that FF will actually follow through on its completely ridiculous promises.

Daniel Golson/Jalopnik

Other than the grille, there are a few other differences on this test car compared to the show cars I saw last year — and they all make the FX Super One look even more like the van it's based on. Instead of the color-matched trim, this van has all of the Gaoshan's chrome accents. Instead of the kinda nice multispoke wheels, this van has the Gaoshan's smaller wheels with FF logos stuck on them. This van even has the Wey logo on its steering wheel, instead of the FF one being there. All of that makes it especially funny how hard some Faraday Future employees tried to stop me from taking photos of the show cars' interiors.

Daniel Golson / Jalopnik

If you go on Faraday Future's website, the page for the FX Super One is exactly the same as it was after the reveal last year, which isn't a great sign. Maybe Faraday Future will somehow get the funding to produce the FX Super One while also avoiding Trump's tariffs and anti-Chinese-car legislation. And maybe, if that happens, some poor suckers will actually buy them. I highly doubt that, but maybe I'll be proven wrong, and Faraday Future will outlast us all, like the cockroaches that survived the Chicxulub impact.

Let's just hope the FX Super One doesn't keep following me around. At least it's less scary than it would be if the AI face was on there, scowling and muttering under its breath as it stalks me down the street — that would make Christine look like a puppy dog.