Los Angeles-based Faraday Future is the latest company to win permission to test self-driving cars on California roads.
The electric car company, a Tesla rival, plans to begin testing its prototype autonomous vehicles later this year, Reuters reported, citing an anonymous industry source. A spokesperson from the California Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed to Reuters that Faraday was approved for testing on Friday.
It appears California s roads may soon be crowded with self-driving cars. It s not uncommon to see Google s test cars (with a handler in the driver s seat) cruising around Mountain View. In granting Faraday Future s approval, the state now allows 14 companies to test autonomous vehicles on public roads, according to Reuters. Others include auto giants such as Tesla and Honda, as well as startups such as Cruise Automation, which was recently acquired by GM.
Uber recently announced it would start testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, and Lyft, in partnership with GM, has said it plans to have self-driving taxis on public roads within a year.
Faraday Future, which operates a tech facility in San Jose, apparently has been testing self-driving features but hadn t provided a timeline for when it would roll out an autonomous car. The company unveiled a futuristic car called Concept at CES in Las Vegas this year, which Wired called a combination of the Batmobile, a Le Mans racer, some switchblades and a fighter jet. The car has four electric motors, one at each wheel, that allow the car to go from zero to 60 in less than three seconds and reach a top speed of 200 mph, Wired reported.
Photo: Faraday Future s FFZER01 Concept. (Faraday)
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