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Since LeEco's financial fraud, Jia Yueting has been exposed to fraud, and only 300 of Faraday's future (FF) 14,000 orders have been paid.
After this storm, how will the dream of building a car in the United States continue?
Only 300 vehicles are booked? More than 90% of FF orders are fraudulent
Originally, the FF Independent Special Investigation Committee was established in response to multiple doubts about the short-selling agency Meiqijin Investment. However, after the results of the investigation were announced, it deepened the public's doubts about the company.
Faraday Future's (FF) independent special investigation committee "self-disclosure" said that the FF91 model that FF had previously stated in the listing prospectus that "more than 14,000 orders have been received" has only paid hundreds of vehicles.
FF91, image source Faraday Future official micro
"The reservation form issued by the company includes two types of paid reservation forms and free reservation orders, of which the company collects more than 14,000 FF91 reservations, which have the information of all booking users, and this part is free booking data; while the company announces the global 300 invitation system limited edition FF91, which is a paid reservation form." On February 9, the relevant person in charge said.
According to this data, FF orders far exceed 90% of the suspicion of falsehood.
The FF Independent Investigative Committee issued a report saying that the statements issued by FF investors contradicted the facts and acknowledged certain weaknesses in corporate governance and compliance.
It is reported that the short-selling agency Meiqijin Investment listed a number of FF crimes in October last year, questioning FF's research and development investment, production capacity, capital operation performance and Jia Yueting himself, saying that FF could not sell a car.
Jia Yueting responded the next day: "Cold rice is hot and fried, nonsense." ”
Now it seems that a series of survey results have deepened the public's doubts about the company.
Jia Yueting cut his salary by 25%, was "cut power"?
After the release of the survey results, the organizational structure of FF was exposed to be greatly adjusted.
Among them, Jia Yueting, as founder and chief product officer, will report directly to the new executive chairman, former independent director Susan Swenson.
Jia Yueting and FF CEO Bi Fukang will both face a 25% wage cut.
"Jia Yueting's participation in the management of the company after the listing of FF is more important than that of many shareholders." In the announcement issued by the FF Independent Investigation Committee, it is believed that Jia Yueting's participation in FF is likely to be underestimated.
It is reported that Jia Yueting is still a member of the management committee of FF after resigning as CEO of FF in 2019 and transferring to the position of CPUO (Chief Product and User Officer). Wang Jiawei, who serves as vice president of FF's global capital markets, is the nephew of Jia Yueting and belongs to the management committee.
According to the remedies proposed by the FF Independent Investigation Committee, Wang Jiawei, who is related to Jia Yueting, will be suspended without pay because of his relationship with the issues disclosed in this investigation. However, what specific behavior Wang Jiawei did in this investigation was not mentioned in the report.
According to this, Jia Yueting's participation in FF is likely to weaken in the future.
Word of mouth falls again, and it will be more difficult to promote in china?
FF was exposed to fraud, not the first time Jia Yueting "stalled things".
Previously, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued an Administrative Penalty Decision, which warned Jia Yueting's LeTV network and imposed a fine of 240 million yuan.
LeTV was delisted on September 12 last year, ending in an equity auction. According to statistics, in this storm, hundreds of thousands of shareholders were involved, at least 13 banks, 11 securities companies and 21 public offerings were thunderous, and Jia Yueting has also been under debt pressure since then.
According to the illegal information disclosed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, LeTV was punished precisely because of 10 consecutive years of financial fraud, resulting in the IPO filing materials submitted and disclosed in 2010, and there were false records in the annual reports from 2010 to 2016.
What will happen to the situation of FF this time?
According to the previous plan, FF91 will officially roll off the production line in July this year. The news that FF is looking for the city where the Chinese headquarters has landed has also been reported from time to time.
However, some industry analysts believe that the falsification of vehicle reservation data will affect the promotion of FF projects in China.
"For the capital market, the current attitude towards FF and Jia Yueting, in addition to being cautious, is more of a consideration for whether FF is a target worth investing in." Because there are already many car-making projects in front of investors at this stage, if you want to invest, you will definitely choose a project that is simpler than the FF experience, seems to be less risky, or the strength of the partner. Zhang Junyi, managing partner of Oliver Yvrux Consulting, said in an interview with Wired Travel.
The analysis pointed out that FF and Jia Yueting himself had a serious loss of credibility in China, and it was unlikely that they would return to China to build a factory.
Judging from the performance of FF's US stock price, it has shown a long-term downward trend. After being questioned by Megakin investment in October last year, the stock price has rarely risen.
As of September 30, 2021, FF had total assets of approximately $1.1 billion, including approximately $667 million in cash and cash equivalents. Since its inception, FF has accumulated losses of about 2.8 billion.
It is reported that even in the case of frequent negative news, FF is still optimistic about the prospects, and recently signed a contract with a South Korean company to start producing Faraday's second car, the FF81, in 2024.
Carsten Breitfeld, Global CEO of Faraday Future, said: "This agreement to produce FF81 puts us on track to deliver on our commitment to high-volume production by 2024, a milestone on our road to profitability. ”
But with this storm, his promise to "return to China to repay debts" seems even more elusive.
On December 25, 2017, the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau issued a notice ordering Jia Yueting, as the actual controller of LeTV, to return to China by December 31 a week later and fulfill his commitment to Lending without interest to LeTV and Related Companies.
At that time, Jia Yueting's reply letter said: "The financing of FF companies in the United States has made significant progress, and there are many jobs that need me to promote to ensure the mass production and sales of the electric vehicle FF91 and delivery on time." ”
Jia Yueting's "return to China next week" has long become a joke from netizens.
Sources丨21st Century Business Herald, Daily Economic News, Changjiang Business Daily, Sina Finance, Huaxia Times, Kung Fu Finance, Titanium Media, Wired Travel, etc
Image source丨 Oriental Fortune Network, Faraday Future, Jia Yueting Weibo, etc
Editor 丨 Wang Lination