However, you won’t want to drive this EV — It doesn’t have a warranty and isn’t exactly optimized for comfort. The interior is pretty bare and there’s not much of a dashboard. This vehicle’s real value is in its collectability. Those who bid won’t be vying for their next commuter vehicle, but for literal pieces of EV history.

In January, writers for car news website Autocar were able to test-drive the FF 91 (perhaps on one of the prototypes up for auction) and talk with Faraday Future CEO Carsten Breitfeld, who said the company planned to begin production of the EVs by the end of the year. It’s unclear where those plans stand in light of the coronavirus pandemic, not to mention the company’s continued financial turmoil.

In the proposed plan, Yueting will use his ownership stake in the long-troubled, cash-strapped EV startup Faraday Future to create a creditor trust and repay his debts. That’s not a total surprise. Last month, Yueting stepped down as CEO in order to create this trust. According to Faraday Future, the restructuring will not affect the company’s normal business offerings, and in fact, it will help prepare the startup for an IPO.

According to The Verge, Yueting claims he owes somewhere around $3.6 billion to more than 100 creditors — mostly due to LeEco, the tech conglomerate he founded in China. Ninety percent of the people or business Yueting owes money will have to approve the restructuring plan by November 8th. If they do, they will also be agreeing to release Yueting of all personal liability and drop their claims against him.

Yueting is expected to continue working with Faraday Future as Chief Product and User Officer, a role in which he’ll handle product definition, user experience and AI.

The company hasn’t delved into specifics for the restructuring strategy, according to the report, but said this would likely involve a partnership.

We’ve asked Faraday Future for comment.

However well a restructuring works, the departure of Jia Yueting could play a crucial role in the company’s chances — or at least, its perception. The executive has been embroiled in multiple financial controversies, including his refusal to return to China to pay debts in 2017 as well as court moves to freeze his assets (including his ownership stake in Faraday Future). On paper, at least, removing Jia Yueting also removes all the leadership and financial headaches that come with his involvement.

It’s far from certain this would help in practice. Faraday has already lost key talent and sold assets that were important to its strategy. This isn’t the company that dazzled people at CES 2017 — it has a long way to go to show that it can put an EV on the market. There’s also the question of competitiveness. While the FF91 was an attention-getter when it was first revealed, the market has changed with both technical innovations and fresh competition. What was meant to be cutting edge may seem behind the curve by the time it’s available.

Still in its conceptual stages, the first pre-production V9 is expected in 2020 and will be sold exclusively in China. Faraday signed a $600 million dollar deal with The9 back in March to build an EV exclusively for sale in China. The two companies aim to release 300,000 of the V9s per year.

The founder of Faraday, Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, tweeted that the V9 was “a new mobility luxury intelligent space that blends design, AI and seamless cabin connectivity.” Few other details are known about the V9, other than that it will be a multipurpose vehicle based on the same platform as the FF91, of which we’ve only seen a pre-production prototype.

The V9 concept: a new mobility luxury intelligent space that blends design, AI and seamless cabin connectivity. #FFV9 #FaradayFuture pic.twitter.com/l8u1lyEutO

— YT Jia (@YTJiaFF) April 3, 2019

The EV startup pitched itself as a Tesla disrupter but has faced numerous financial struggles keeping its flagship car, the FF91, from hitting the market. Even though The9 is providing a much-needed lifeline for Faraday, the $600 million dollar investment isn’t a done deal. Faraday received $5 million up front for its short-term cash flow problems. According to an SEC filing, the EV startup will get the rest of the money in $200 million increments after meeting certain milestones, including setting up the joint venture in Hong Kong, securing funding for a factory in China, and coming up with a design prototype that is approved by its board of directors.