Explosion, car fireplace rock Faraday Future’s LA headquarters

A Faraday Future electric SUV caught fire at the startup’s Los Angeles headquarters early Sunday morning, leading to an explosion that blew out part of a wall, the fire department told TechCrunch.

The fire was extinguished in 40 minutes, and no injuries were reported. Damage to the building — a smaller two-story structure next to the larger portion of the headquarters (pictured above) — was severe enough that the city’s Department of Building and Safety has “red tagged” it, meaning it may need structural work before it can be occupied again.

“We are aware of a fire at our facility yesterday, there were no injuries to FF staff, and no evacuation was required, and the specific cause and origin of the fire is under investigation,” John Schilling, Faraday Future’s communications director, wrote in an email to TechCrunch.

The fire comes at an awkward time for Faraday Future because its continued presence at the headquarters — which it has occupied for a decade — is uncertain.

The startup, which has struggled financially for years, sold the headquarters in 2019 to generate cash and has leased it ever since. Current owner Rexford Industrial sued Faraday Future in February 2024 in an attempt to evict the startup over late payments. The two sides ultimately settled in April 2024. At the time of that settlement, the lease was set to expire at the end of September 2025.

Schilling, when asked, said he was unsure of the current status of Faraday Future’s lease. The property, including the main building and the one where the fire occurred, is being advertised as available for lease by commercial real estate company CBRE. Representatives for CBRE and Rexford did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The blaze was first reported to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) at 4:37 a.m. local time on September 28. LAFD spokesperson Brian Humphrey told TechCrunch the 911 call came from an eyewitness. Sprinklers in the building helped keep the fire in check until the fire department arrived. An explosion created a major bulge in at least one of the walls, according to a photo viewed by TechCrunch.

Once they arrived, firefighters had to force entry to battle the flames, Humphrey said. The fire was fully extinguished at 5:17 a.m.

The specific cause and origin of the FF91 SUV fire have not yet been determined, Humphrey said, noting that fire department investigators did not identify any “human factors.” The FF91 SUV was on display in the office space.

After the fire was extinguished, an inspector from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety evaluated the structure and determined it unfit for occupancy.

Faraday Future first unveiled the FF91 SUV in 2017. At the time, it was billed as an ultra-luxury electric vehicle with industry-leading range. But the company ran into repeated financial crises, and only started building the first few production SUVs in 2023.

Since then, the company has delivered a few more than a dozen FF91s to celebrities and high net worth individuals, although Faraday Future has been accused by employee whistleblowers of misrepresenting those sales.

The company is now promoting a more affordable electric van that it appears to be importing from China, and is also trying to spin up a crypto-focused business. Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission sent so-called “Wells Notices” to Faraday Future and its founder Jia Yueting, among others, an indication that the financial regulator is preparing to file a lawsuit against the company following a three-year investigation.