When the Future Becomes a Faraday: The Battle Inside an EV Startup

Fasten your seatbelts, we're dipping into some electric drama! Picture this: two ex-employees of Faraday Future, Jose Guerrero and Victoria Xie, have stepped into the courtroom. Both filed independent lawsuits at the Los Angeles Superior Court against quite the line up - the company itself, its founder Jia Yueting, and HR top-dog, Nan Yang. Accusations are flying from wrongful termination to breach of contract, and inflicting emotional distress. This electrifying legal spectacle unfolds as Faraday Future juggles layoffs, a spiralling economy, and the looming shadow of eviction from its L.A. headquarters.

Were the Sales Supercharged or Simply Static?

Add to this mix the controversy buzzing around accusations from our plaintiffs, Guerrero and Xie. This pair conjured up a whistleblower letter addressed to the company's general counsel, suggesting that Faraday Future might've played a little too fast and loose with their numbers. Hold on, was this the sound of deceptive sales claims for their electric SUV, the FF91?

Juicy part incoming! Guerrero, who once held the reins of sales (and after-sales), together with Xie, the mastermind behind project management and vehicle launching, are pointing fingers. They're saying Faraday Future might've jumped the gun, announcing deliveries before the sales even crossed the finish line. According to them, only one out of the first four "sales" managed to reach the payment phase at the time their letter was written, with the rest only closing their deals much later.

Fast Cars, Faster Retaliations?

And the drama pedals on with claims of urging sales despite unresolved compliance issues and a nasty backlash against those staff members who dared to question these practices. Even the nitty-gritty of car inspection is under scrutiny; Guerrero and Xie allege that vehicle inspections were cast aside and necessary DMV paperwork was shoved through despite lack of the necessary insurance and cash payments. Add to that the rather disconcerting claims alleging non-road-approved software finding its way into early customer cars without proper disclosure.

Switching gears, there's talk of covert repair work; unauthorized fixes to customer vehicles that might put the company's license with the California Bureau of Automotive Repair at risk. Another central theme of the lawsuits is Jia's ongoing influence, despite his supposed step back from leadership following some suspicious preorder number stretching and financial airbrushing back in 2021.

A "Shadow Organization" in the Evolving Electric Maze?

The whistleblowers describe an enigmatic "shadow organization," supposedly run by Jia from his picturesque properties along the Pacific coast. These secretive seaside gatherings are alleged to involve major decisions on HR, budgets, vehicle releases, and financial services. And when the whistleblowers blew their cover? Both Guerrero and Xie claim they were terminated as retaliation, sending shockwaves through the EV-startup world.

These lawsuits unravel a tangled web around Jia's clandestine control of Faraday Future, a company no stranger to controversy. As it weaves its way through regulatory inquiries and teeters on the brink of a financial chasm, the results of these lawsuits might just expose the circuitry beneath the metal exterior of this embattled EV enterprise.

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