Faraday Future, the California electric EV startup that has nearly gone out of business so many times, has finally made a car.

On Wednesday, the company held an event to celebrate the completion of the first “production intent” of the FF91, the ultra-luxury electric SUV that has been in operation for nearly eight years. Faraday Future — which has also been transferred by Faraday Future Intelligent Electric since its merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC, in July 2021 — claims it is still on schedule to officially begin production of the FF91 in the third quarter of 2022.

It’s definitely a milestone for the company, which has seen high turnover rates, has gone into bankruptcy multiple times, and somehow still manages to come back from the brink. In fact, the company calls it “achievement number 4” among seven milestones it says will eventually lead to the FF91’s “production start.”

Of course, Faraday Future has made cars in the past. he was there The infamous “Batmobile”, a stationary concept car which debuted at CES 2016. There was a pre-production version of the FF91 It could have hit me when I rode it the following year.

It was that year, 2017, when Things are already starting to escalate for Faraday’s future. The company announced a billion-dollar plant in the Nevada desert that was never built. It started Bleeding money and staff. It set its own headquarters for sale. Emergency investors appeared, only to dive in later Court fights With Faraday Future to control the money.

In the end, A new CEO has been foundJia Yueting raised to personal bankruptcyAnd the company saw an opportunity to cash in on the new money flowing into the electric vehicle startup space merging with SPAC and going public. It was a wild ride. (And it’s not over yet: The company recently announced a file The internal investigation revealed numerous cases of inaccurate statements, leading to another leadership change. you guys!)

Now that its first car has come out, the company is turning to the real things that matter: marketing. Faraday Future is launching a new “omnichannel communications campaign” called “Born in California,” as well as something it calls “ieMedals Campaign” to learn about its suppliers and contract manufacturers.

I know what you’re asking: “That sounds cool. How do I earn my medal?” Glad you asked. According to Faraday Future, “Users on the FF Smart App can earn Resource Brokers, i.e. for their individual accounts by completing specific tasks or meeting the requirements of the co-creation challenge. Medals are electronic prizes credited to the FFID accounts of users on the FF Intelligent app.”

So, basically NFT? It’s not exactly clear if these electronic prizes will live on the blockchain, but I wouldn’t put it far beyond Faraday Future to pull off such a strange stunt. Shine on you crazy diamond.