Too long a story is like an old woman's bound feet.

"Making cars is really difficult," this is the most authentic sentiment of Xiaomi's Lei Jun after entering the automotive industry for three years.

However, for some people, three years is just the first step of the long march. On September 6, on the first anniversary of the stock market suspension notice, Faraday Future announced that it had regained compliance with Nasdaq's listing standards and successfully resumed trading. As of the close on September 6, Faraday Future's share price was $4.8 per share, already above the $1 delisting threshold.

Jia Yueting posted on Weibo that he had received confirmation from Nasdaq that FFIE had officially regained compliance with listing requirements, and that the risk of delisting this year had finally been eliminated, bringing an end to the battle to defend his dream.

"Finally, the shackles of listing compliance have been lifted, and we can move forward with all our strength. During this time, we have faced enormous pressure and made many decisions that were severely misunderstood by many people, enduring too much frustration and injustice," Jia wrote.

Coincidentally, on the same day, Evergrande Auto also submitted a listing resumption application. As an automaker with deep ties to Jia Yueting, the two companies on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean once again resonated in unison.

On September 6, Evergrande Auto announced that it had received an application from certain creditors to the court for bankruptcy liquidation of Hengchi, and that the group was considering contesting the creditors' application, while the stock had applied for resumption of trading.

From the outside, it seemed that Evergrande Auto had almost entered its final countdown with Xu Jiayin's departure, but it appears that Evergrande Auto still wants to turn things around against the odds.

Perhaps seeing Faraday Future, founded by Jia Yueting, able to revive in the U.S. stock market, Evergrande Auto, backed by Evergrande Group and producing far more vehicles than FF91, certainly has the capability to stage a comeback.

In fact, Evergrande Auto and Faraday Future share an untold history, and Evergrande Auto may indeed be able to reap opportunities from Faraday Future's comeback.

Tracing back to 2018, there was no Evergrande Auto as it exists today. Jia Yueting had already fled to the United States for a year, and the domestic new energy market was still in its infancy, with NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto still struggling to establish themselves, and Lei Jun's Xiaomi phones selling well.

Jia Yueting, who had encountered economic difficulties and gone to the United States to raise funds, still did not abandon his most important automotive venture. At that time, Jia was still the business elite who had founded LeEco, and he successfully wooed Xu Jiayin's wallet with nothing more than grandiose blueprints in his mouth. Xu, with a wave of his hand, invested HK$6.746 billion to try to revive Faraday Future from its predicament.

Through indirect shareholding, Evergrande Health owned 32% of Faraday Future at the time, becoming its largest shareholder. To reassure Xu Jiayin, Jia Yueting voluntarily relinquished his position as CEO of Faraday Future.

However, the cooperation between the two parties did not last long before differences emerged. Perhaps Xu, who was pursuing efficiency, found Faraday Future's progress too slow, and unable to mass-produce vehicles in a timely manner. Therefore, just four months later, Xu announced the establishment of a new automotive venture and launched the new energy vehicle brand Hengchi.

Of course, there were also rumors that Jia Yueting had painted an almost irresistible picture for Xu Jiayin at the time. Upon learning that Jia Yueting could not deliver on his promises, Xu did not hesitate to take him to court and embarked on his own automotive venture.

With the support of Evergrande Group, Evergrande Auto's products were still on paper, but its listing process progressed rapidly. Two years later, in August 2020, Evergrande Health was renamed Evergrande Auto and successfully entered the capital market on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

A year later, Jia Yueting also successfully listed on Nasdaq through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). However, because he did not redeem his shares from Evergrande, Evergrande Auto still held a 20% stake in Faraday Future at the time. The listing had a positive impact, and Evergrande Auto's share price rose by 25% on that day.

It can be said that although Jia Yueting and Xu Jiayin have gone their separate ways, the destinies of Faraday Future and Evergrande Auto are tightly intertwined, and both have become important players in the capital market that can influence each other.

From the outside perspective, both Evergrande Auto and Faraday Future are developing rapidly, especially Evergrande Auto. With strong financial support, it took Evergrande just two years from project initiation to product launch, and it launched six models in one go.

In contrast, Faraday Future has progressed slowly. From its inception in 2014 until the launch of Evergrande Auto's products, it has not yet achieved mass production. As a result, Jia Yueting has made a second famous promise besides "next week back to China" - "next week mass production."

Perhaps money really does make the world go round. With heavy investments, Evergrande Auto miraculously completed the rollout of its first model, the Hengchi 5, on September 16, 2022, and began deliveries.

It wasn't until May 31, 2023, that Jia Yueting's Faraday Future finally made its debut to the world. With much fanfare, the first FF91 2.0 Futurist Alliance, priced at $309,000 (approximately RMB 2.195 million), was delivered to American luxury car dealer "Private Collection Motors."

Faraday Future's deliveries did not proceed as expected but instead embarked on a lengthy journey. To date, only 13 vehicles have been delivered, and rumors suggest that the first 12 deliveries were purely for promotional purposes and no money was exchanged.

However, Jia Yueting, based in the United States, always manages to surprise everyone. Especially after Xu Jiayin's departure from the stage, he has become the most legendary figure among new energy vehicle entrepreneurs. He has even participated in domestic new energy forums online to share his insights on automotive manufacturing.

On July 22 this year, riding the wave of AI, Jia Yueting announced plans to create "AI Cars of the Future" and "AI Cars for the People," accessible to everyone and offering luxurious AI experiences at affordable prices. These will become Faraday Future's second brand.

The launch event for the second brand was named the "FF Sino-US Automotive Industry Bridge Strategy and Second Brand Launch Conference" and is scheduled for September 19.

With these series of maneuvers, Jia Yueting successfully raised $30 million in funding from multiple institutions, buying Faraday Future some more time. From the outside, no one knows how many more "seven-star lamps" Jia Yueting still has up his sleeve.

At present, the biggest challenge surrounding the second brand may still be product delivery. Despite significant cost reductions, Faraday Future still lacks sufficient funds to maintain mass production of new vehicles. After more than a decade in the automotive industry, Faraday Future has delivered only 13 new vehicles.

As for Evergrande Auto, despite having its own factories and production lines, as of June 30 this year, it had delivered only 1,429 new vehicles. According to its half-year financial report, Evergrande Auto's new energy vehicle business revenue was only RMB 16.095 million, down 62.7% year-on-year, and it still suffered a loss of over RMB 20 billion while carrying more than RMB 70 billion in debt.

Judging from the current situation, even if Evergrande Auto applies for resumption of trading, it may not be able to sustain its operations, especially in the context of the current new energy industry, where profitability is generally elusive. Desperate for a resumption of trading, Evergrande Auto may still be hoping to make a last-ditch effort in the capital market.

However, without its core leader, Evergrande Auto may find itself in an even more difficult position than Jia Yueting, who is "far away from home."

To everyone's surprise, Jia Yueting was one of the pioneers of PPT carmaking, and he left for the United States after the first wave of PPT carmaking scandals erupted. Fast forward to 2024, many new energy vehicle startups have failed, but Jia Yueting remains undefeated with his silver tongue.

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