Faraday Future Appoints Founder Jia Yueting as Co-CEO
Faraday Future, an electric vehicle startup facing challenges, has made a significant decision by appointing founder Jia Yueting as the company’s co-CEO. This move comes three years after Jia was sidelined due to an internal probe that raised allegations of fraud, leading to an ongoing investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jia will work alongside current CEO Matthias Aydt, taking charge of Faraday’s finance, legal, and supply chain departments. The announcement was made during a press conference held by the company on Thursday. Aydt, a long-serving employee at Faraday Future, was previously placed on probation for offering a substantial sum of money to a board member to resign during a power struggle within the company.
The appointment of Jia as co-CEO follows the recent naming of his nephew, Jerry Wang, as president of the EV startup. Wang stepped down from his position in 2022 due to the internal probe, citing a lack of cooperation with the investigation in filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Established by Jia in 2014, Faraday Future emerged as an ambitious project to expand beyond his successful ventures in electronics and media streaming in China. However, faced with the collapse of his previous empire, Jia relocated to the U.S. to focus on developing Faraday Future. Over the past decade, the company has invested over $3 billion in creating an ultra-luxury EV known as the FF91. Despite these efforts, only a small number of units have been sold to date, with lawsuits alleging misrepresentation in some of these transactions.
