Electric car startup Faraday Future is trying to raise $1 billion as cash runs thin, Bloomberg's Giles Turner first reported.

Faraday Future, once described as a potential "Tesla killer," has run into financial troubles due to its connection with Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting.

Yueting, the founder of Chinese electronics company LeEco, revealed the company was suffering from a severe cash shortage last November after over expanding into everything from electric cars to ride-hailing. Yueting stepped down as CEO of LeEco on Monday.

Yueting, traditionally Faraday's main backer, will no longer invest in the startup, Bloomberg reported. Faraday Future is now targeting large-scale investors for the $1 billion capital raise.

Faraday scrapped plans for a secondary facility in the San Francisco Bay Area in March after defaulting on payments to contractors. The startup still plans to open a facility in northern Las Vegas.

Faraday showed off its electric SUV, the FF91, at CES in January.