Brian Krolicki, Faraday Future’s new board member. Photo credit: Faraday Future

Embattled electric vehicle startup Faraday Future has announced the appointment of a new board member by the name of Brian Krolicki, an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of the state of Nevada for eight years. Krolicki is joining as the sixth and only independent member of Faraday Future’s board. Prior to entering public service, Krolicki had a successful career in the private banking industry so his appointment doesn’t seem unhandy. More so, Krolicki has drawn much expertise from holding public service roles for more than two decades, expertise that’ll apparently be useful to Faraday Future.

Krolicki’s board appointment apparently falls under leadership changes that were proposed when Faraday’s current CEO, Carsten Breitfeld, took over last year. Faraday Future’s journey, for the lack of more accurately fitting words, has been one “hell-of-a-ride.” The company, once an apparent high-flyer that grew to more than 1,000 employees in just two years of existence, later began experiencing financial issues that resulted in layoffs, furloughs, and general turmoil at the company. Faraday Future has run into issues with creditors and investors alike, including when one investor, China’s Evergrande Group, backed out of a planned critical investment in the company. Financial hassles have caused Faraday to delay production and streamline its operations even after having shown off some concept vehicles.

Right now, Faraday Future is projecting that it will kick off production of one of its vehicles, the FF 91, in “approximately nine months” thanks to a recent equity funding infusion. The company also says it’s targeting an initial public offering (IPO) “within 12-15 months” to presumably raise more funding.