(Yicai) Nov. 14 -- Shares of Faraday Future Intelligent Electric, an electric vehicle startup founded by Chinese businessman Jia Yueting, surged after the firm generated revenue for the first time.

Faraday Future [NASDAQ: FFIE] closed 10.9 percent higher at 88 US cents a share in New York yesterday.

Revenue was USD551,000 in the three months ended Sept. 30, Faraday Future said in a shareholder letter yesterday. Its net loss shrank 35 percent to USD78.1 million from a year ago, thanks to the halving of research and development costs to USD21.6 million and a 16 percent drop in general and administrative expenses to USD24 million.

“The third quarter was pivotal for Faraday Future,” the carmaker noted. “We are now a revenue generating company and our first vehicles are running on the roads of California.”

Faraday Future had delivered seven FF 91 2.0 Futurist Alliance units as of the end of September, the firm said, adding that the vehicle took nine years and an investment of USD3 billion to come to fruition. It aims to make about 1,000 autos next year, depending on funds, supply chain capacity and stability, and necessary permits.

Founded in 2014, the California-based automaker has faced a series of financial challenges that led to delays and uncertainty in its production plans and a restructuring before it went public in New York in 2021 through a merger with a blank check company in a USD1 billion deal.

The FF 91 2.0 Futurist Alliance is “an all-ability vehicle with the performance of a sports car, the luxury of a sedan, and the terrain handling of an SUV, and all of this is fitted with the latest technology, from infotainment to AI handling,” according to the company.

Editor: Martin Kadiev