Faraday Future's Bizarre Response Letter to the Public
Faraday Future has issued a strange response to the criticism surrounding its most recent high-profile “staffing adjustment.” Last week, news broke that the startup automaker’s chief financial officer, Stefan Krause, left the firm in October — forcing media outlets to play catch up. When the information made its way to The Truth About Cars, we dug back into Faraday’s current condition and reported that things were still a mess at its California headquarters.
Unwilling to let the automotive media monopolize the conversation, Faraday released a response letter. In it, the company accuses Krause of being fired for “dereliction of duty” and said it would be taking legal action against him. It’s the first time the startup had updated its media page in months and is a peculiar reaction to a staffing change that, at the time, seemed like the least of Faraday’s worries.
First of all, Krause’s entire job was to bring the firm back from the brink of financial ruin (and he had precious little time in which to do it, having been hired in March of this year). Any “malfeasance” or criminal activity he’s responsible for must have had a pretty quick turnaround. But that appears to be the official corporate position on the matter. The company’s release claims Krause was hindering FF’s fundraising efforts, assumedly intentionally.
“Stefan Krause’s possible violation of law and lack of contribution to FF’s goals over the course of his leadership since March has led to severe damages to the interests of FF and its investor,” the statement reads. “FF is currently taking legal actions as a result of Stefan Krause’s malfeasance and dereliction of duty.”
Jalopnik, which first announced the CFO’s October departure, added some clarity via news of an intercepted internal memo from chief financier Jia Yueting. “I know we have a dedicated team of more than 1,000 employees globally who continue every day, despite challenging head winds [sic] and disbelievers, to push forward with our goal of bringing FF 91 to market,” Jia wrote in the email.
The letter also announced that Faraday would make a public response regarding Krause’s “termination” and verified that the company would pursue legal retribution against the former CFO. Krause maintains that the company has mischaracterized the situation by falsely describing the circumstances in which he left Faraday, while making baseless claims against him.
If that’s true, what Faraday hopes to gain by throwing him under the bus is anyone’s guess. It’s not like the company’s problems began when he was brought on board six months ago.
Interestingly, Faraday’s public release also announced the termination of Ulrich Kranz, FF’s chief technology officer. Like Krause, Kranz had only been appointed to his role a few months earlier and may have also resigned weeks before the official firing announcement was made. The company specified that “this termination wouldn’t affect the R&D process and product development of [FF 91].”
[Image: Faraday Future]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Bluster is the weapon of the J Winton Snively crowd when caught out. If FF hasn't been paying its bills to suppliers as reported, there are apparently 1,000 optimists working for them fueled by optimism and IOUs.
Where do I send my down payment for an FF 91?