When an EV company is growing and wants to establish a presence in the Bay Area, what is the right real estate move?
– Do you sign a long-term lease right away?
– Do you commit to a larger facility before you really know how the operation is going to grow?
– Or do you take a more measured approach first, one that gives you flexibility while the company figures things out?
That was the situation Faraday Future faced.
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They knew the Bay Area mattered. They needed access to engineering and software talent, along with the broader innovation ecosystem here in Silicon Valley. But like many growing companies, they were still figuring out what their footprint should look like. How much space did they really need? How quickly would the team grow? And how much commitment made sense at that stage?
That is where the first challenge came in.
Instead of pushing them into a big, long-term deal, The Ivy Group helped Faraday Future secure a sublease in San Jose. That gave them an opportunity to enter the market with less upfront cost, less risk, and more flexibility. It gave them a chance to build out their presence without overcommitting, while proving their strategic move into Silicon Valley.
And that was the right solution for that moment.
A couple of years later, after gaining a foothold in the Bay Area, the company grew and its real estate needs changed. Now it needed a much larger and more specialized facility. The requirement was about 30,000 square feet, with offices, R&D space, warehouse functionality, vehicle access, parking, and room to support testing and operations, all very specific to an EV company.
Space like that is hard to find. And even when you find it, the next question is just as important: how do you structure the lease so the company has room to grow without locking it into a long-term commitment?
After identifying a San Jose property that fit their operational needs, the next step was structuring a lease that gave the company flexibility and control.
By the second assignment, Faraday Future had evolved from a private company into a publicly listed one. More stakeholders. More scrutiny. More questions from the board that needed clear answers.
More than finding a building, this became about matching the real estate requirements to the business strategy. The Ivy Group became a trusted advisor and strategist on site selection, lease structuring, and supporting the client’s decision-making process.
In the full case study, we go deeper into the challenges, the solutions, and the lessons for EV, AI, and other tech companies that are growing and making important real estate decisions.
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