Chinese Tycoon Spent 8 Years, $3 Billion on EV That Went Unbuilt (bloomberg.com) 25
Faraday Future burned through cash and board seats while its founder fought for control. From a report: The image arrived in Susan Swenson's inbox on a Wednesday evening. Her corporate headshot had been crudely crossed out in digital red ink, and the word "Kill" was written in the bottom left corner. In the hours that followed, some of her colleagues received similar threats, including messages that referenced the recent assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. The menacing emails marked the apex of a months-long fight for control over Faraday Future Intelligent Electric, a Los Angeles, California-based publicly traded electric vehicle startup that once billed itself as the next Tesla. In September, after the death threats, persistent pressure from Faraday's largest shareholders, and a surprising cameo from property giant China Evergrande, Swenson, the executive chair, and three others agreed to leave Faraday's board of directors in a sweeping restructuring.
While it's not known who sent the death threats -- the company has referred them to the FBI -- some leaders inside Faraday believe they were inspired by the boardroom fight recently waged by its largest shareholders, including a group that is partially managed by the startup's founder, exiled Chinese tycoon Jia Yueting. Seven months ago, Faraday's board sidelined Jia, who goes by YT, following an internal probe that examined his influence over day-to-day operations, as well as a series of loans employees made to the startup over the years. Now, he stands to benefit greatly from the impending board shakeup, which will be completed when Faraday holds its delayed annual meeting. He has been named an adviser to the board, and FF Global will have input on all six new members. As Faraday put it in a recent SEC filing, "YT Jia and FF Global have strengthened their already significant influence over the Company." But as YT reclaims power, it is over a company that's under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to the findings of the internal probe -- information the Department of Justice has inquired about, too, according to Faraday. The startup also needs money, fast. After burning through more than $3 billion since it launched eight years ago, Faraday reported just $27 million in cash on Oct. 25th, and says it needs millions more if it hopes to finally ship its elusive SUV.
While it's not known who sent the death threats -- the company has referred them to the FBI -- some leaders inside Faraday believe they were inspired by the boardroom fight recently waged by its largest shareholders, including a group that is partially managed by the startup's founder, exiled Chinese tycoon Jia Yueting. Seven months ago, Faraday's board sidelined Jia, who goes by YT, following an internal probe that examined his influence over day-to-day operations, as well as a series of loans employees made to the startup over the years. Now, he stands to benefit greatly from the impending board shakeup, which will be completed when Faraday holds its delayed annual meeting. He has been named an adviser to the board, and FF Global will have input on all six new members. As Faraday put it in a recent SEC filing, "YT Jia and FF Global have strengthened their already significant influence over the Company." But as YT reclaims power, it is over a company that's under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to the findings of the internal probe -- information the Department of Justice has inquired about, too, according to Faraday. The startup also needs money, fast. After burning through more than $3 billion since it launched eight years ago, Faraday reported just $27 million in cash on Oct. 25th, and says it needs millions more if it hopes to finally ship its elusive SUV.
Ever heard of the Mohler Flying Car? (Score:2)
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Cars crash into houses all the time, apparently a lot more than i expected, a quick google search revealed.
Anyway, to stay on-topic; money was laundered, people got paid, scam succeeded.
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but nobody has figured out a way to get around the legal liability of those things crashing into houses yet.
I don't think it is a legal problem. It is people problem. As in the vast majority can't even handle the 2D that normal driving entails. Don't want the chaos.
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Re: Ever heard of the Mohler Flying Car? (Score:1)
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The Democratic party has been using the LBJ strategy ever since he famously said he'd have those _______ voting Democrat for the next hundred years! I dare you to fill in the blank.
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This reminds me of the Aptera. I'm so glad I didn't put down the $500 reserve deposit back around '07 when they were still a thing. TBF though, I'm given to understand that all deposits were refunded when it went bankrupt. Get this--they're back, and still in "reserve yours" mode. It's not as bad as some of the other things that have happened in this space; but I'll never pre-pay for anything. There is, however, no shortage of people willing to pay extra just to get something a year, a few months, or e
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There were several flying cars, or roadable aircraft over the years that actually flew. Most looked rather silly, but there was a roadable airplane, a roadable gyrocopt
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Yeah... but was there evidence Mohler made bank from the "scam"? I mean, maybe so. But I was always under the impression he was just more of an engineer who really, really believed in the idea of a flying car and kept at it persistently because he believed the technology and the FAA restrictions/laws would slowly favor it?
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Cool and all (Score:2)
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It's Bloomberg. They're paywalled. It's hardly a scam to harvest anything :P
Pump. Dump. (Score:2)
Bloomberg is a scam to attract investor to duds about to go bust, bubbles about to pop,and similar.
Pump. Dump.
Nice Car (Score:2)
It's a shame that they don't seem to be going anywhere. The prototypes looked like nice cars. I haven't followed the saga much, but it would seem like their problems were likely much more around business and financial politics than technical engineering. Assuming the prototypes aren't fake like the Nickola semis, and they really do have some working technology, I could see a legacy car company buying them out; perhaps one of the Japanese companies that need a boost to their EV programs.
Seriously? YT? (Score:2)
Sounds like "Whitey"? That is just ripe for bad jokes.