On Wednesday, Faraday Future will officially break ground on its $1 billion electric vehicle factory outside Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal recently reported that the nascent automaker also spent more than $1.6 million in the past two months to expand its footprint at the North Las Vegas industrial park that will host its first factory.
Faraday surfaced last year amid bold proclamations of challenging Tesla Motors for superiority in the high-end electric vehicle market.
In December, the company picked Nevada to host its plant, and just days later, state lawmakers approved $335 million in incentives directed toward the project.
In recent months, however, the secretive company's ambitious plans has come under increasing scrutiny.
Faraday tabled most of its projected product line and was only able to showcase a non-functioning prototype at its high-profile January debut at the Consumer Electronics Show.
(AP Photo)Meanwhile, Faraday's backer, Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, saw his primary company — media and technology giant LeEco — suspended from trading in China amid that country's economic turbulence.
Nevada Treasurer Dan Schwartz traveled to China in February to meet with investors and said that they agreed that Jia "doesn’t have the money" to pay for the North Las Vegas plant. He demanded that Faraday issue a bond to guarantee the project before he would release state funding for nearby infrastructure upgrades.
Faraday executives last month responded with a letter to state officials vowing to acquire a $75 million surety bond, which would be returned to the company after it meets certain construction and revenue thresholds.
Once shovels hit the ground during Wednesday's ceremony, Faraday officials hope to begin an aggressive construction schedule.
"Normally, a project of this size would take approximately four years and we're trying to cut it down to half the time while still doing it right," company spokeswoman Stacy Morris told Business Insider.
