Faraday Future Lures Rivian Exec as Manufacturing Race Heats Up

Faraday Future has hired a new VP of Manufacturing, Matt Tall, to lead all aspects of the company’s production and manufacturing operations.

Tall will focus on readying the intelligent mobility ecosystem company’s Hanford manufacturing plant for the production of the FF 91, the company’s first production electric vehicle (EV) and flagship model. This will involve oversight of the final phases of the plant’s upgrade, installation of component tooling, and hiring manufacturing staff.

Alongside Tall, the EV maker has also announced the hiring of Liu Yuchao as the SVP of Supply Chain for Faraday Future in China. He brings experience from Chang’an-Ford-Mazda, Chery Jaguar Land Rover and Ford Motor China to secure the company's supply chain for a manufacturing plant in the country, which has quickly become a lucrative but crowded EV market.

Faraday Future’s manufacturing efforts have been kicked into overdrive after it received an influx of money after it went public in July 2021, it also received a $25 million investment from Palantir shortly before its debut of the Nasdaq. The company is racing alongside several other EV makers, like Rivian and Canoo, which are also gearing up for the production of their first EVs as well.

“We are very excited to welcome Matt to our growing team at FF,” CEO Carsten Breitfeld said in a press release. “He brings a wealth of experience to help oversee the manufacturing and launch of our flagship FF 91.”

Tall is a veteran automotive executive who brings over 29 years of both internal combustion engine and electric vehicle production expertise. He most recently worked at rival Rivian as the company’s VP of Manufacturing. Tall also held production and engineering roles at established automakers like Ford, GM, and Mercedes-Benz.

Faraday Future isn’t the only EV startup to recruit an experienced manufacturing executive as delivery dates fast approach. Just last month, Lordstown Motors named former Tesla exec Eric Purcell as its VP of Global Quality to oversee the company’s quality standards ahead of the start of production of its own electric pickup truck.