Recently, FF's lawsuit against Gaohe Automobile has attracted market attention.
On March 5th, Chinese Express and Ding Lei issued a statement stating that they had never engaged in any infringement of trade secrets or intellectual property rights of LeEco and FF companies. The development of all Gaohe X/Z/Y models was independently completed by Chinese Express from scratch.
The statement also stated that Jia Yueting disregarded the facts and maliciously slandered Ding Lei himself, as well as Chinese Express/Gaohe Automobile, using words such as "plagiarism," "theft," "crime," and "shame.". Ding Lei himself and Chinese Express/Gaohe Automobile will file a lawsuit against Jia Yueting for infringement of reputation rights in court to clarify the facts.
Earlier on March 5th, Faraday Future (FF) announced that FF and its Chinese subsidiaries had filed a lawsuit against former FF executive and founder of Chinese Express, Ding Lei (along with other affiliated companies, hereinafter referred to as "Chinese Express"), with the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province, China, for infringement of trade secrets and unfair competition.
The company requests the court to order compensation for the corresponding losses and further demands that Chinese Express immediately stop infringing on the trade secrets related to FF 91, including but not limited to stopping the use of the trade secrets in question, designing, developing, producing, and selling suspected infringing products using the trade secrets in question, selling suspected infringing products, or providing after-sales service for suspected infringing products using the trade secrets in question, And immediately cease the alleged unfair competition behavior.
As of the close of the US stock market on the previous day, the stock price of Faraday Future (FFIE, $0.184, market value $7.852 million) has fallen by 7.07%.
Ding Lei, founder of Gaohe, released a statement expressing shock and anger at Jia Yueting's accusations
On the afternoon of March 5th, Ding Lei, the founder of Gaohe Automobile, released a statement on Gaohe Automobile's official WeChat account, stating that he was shocked and angry at Jia Yueting's remarks on March 5th, 2024 on his verified Weibo account, which targeted me and Chinese Express/Gaohe Automobile for allegedly stealing and infringing on FF intellectual property rights, technical data, and commercial secrets. This false statement and accusation seriously infringe upon the reputation rights of myself and Chinese Express/Gaohe Automobile. We hereby make the following solemn statement:
Firstly, during my tenure at LeEco and after leaving, I have never engaged in any infringement of trade secrets or intellectual property rights of LeEco and FF Company.
Secondly, the development of all Gaohe X/Z/Y models has been independently completed by Chinese Express from scratch. Jia Yueting's false accusations are defamation and slander against myself and all employees of Chinese Express/Gaohe Automobile. The completion of the research and development, mass production, and launch of the first model by Chinese Express/Gaohe Automobile within 38 months is the result of the full efforts of all our employees, the full support of all suppliers and partners, and the inevitable result of the rapid development and accumulation of the Chinese automotive industry over the past 40 years.
Thirdly, Chinese Express/Gaohe Automobile and myself have never engaged in any defamation of FF Company, other industry partners, or Jia Yueting to the media, investors, or users. We have always held a respectful attitude towards all automobile companies.
Fourthly, Jia Yueting disregarded facts and maliciously slandered himself, using words such as "plagiarism", "theft", "crime", and "shame" to deliberately smear, defame, and crack down on himself and Chinese Express/Gaohe Automobile. I, along with Chinese Express/Gaohe Automobile, will file a lawsuit against Jia Yueting for infringement of reputation rights in court to clarify the facts and provide a positive perspective.
Earlier on March 5th, Gaohe Automobile issued a statement stating that the company and Ding Lei did not engage in any plagiarism or infringement of FF Company's trade secrets and intellectual property rights, nor did they engage in unfair competition; The company's mass-produced Gaohe X/Z/Y series models are independently developed and jointly developed with supplier partners, with independent intellectual property rights; The company has been established for 6 years, and prior to this, the company and Ding Lei have never received any lawsuits from FF Company.
Gaohe Automobile stated that it will protect the rights and reputation of the company and its founders from infringement through legal means.
Jia Yueting "bombards" Gaohe Motors, FF sues Ding Lei and Chinese Express
On March 5th, Faraday Future (FF) announced that FF and its Chinese subsidiaries have filed a lawsuit against former FF executive and founder of China Express, Ding Lei (along with other affiliated companies, hereinafter referred to as "China Express"), with the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province, China, for infringement of trade secrets and unfair competition. The company requests the court to order compensation for the corresponding losses and further demands that Chinese Express immediately stop infringing on the trade secrets related to FF 91, including but not limited to stopping the use of the trade secrets in question, designing, developing, producing, and selling suspected infringing products using the trade secrets in question, selling suspected infringing products, or providing after-sales service for suspected infringing products using the trade secrets in question, And immediately cease the alleged unfair competition behavior.
Jia Yueting also "personally stepped down" and wrote:
After a long period of investigation, evidence collection, and preparation, FF officially filed a lawsuit today against Ding Lei and Gao He Automobile for suspected illegal or even criminal acts of theft and infringement of FF's intellectual property, technical data, and trade secrets.
Ding Lei has spent nearly two years in office, with an income of more than 30 million yuan, learning FF's new AI and Internet car building concepts and knowledge, but by taking advantage of his position, he has been planning and implementing the theft of FF's intellectual property rights, technical data and business secrets. After leaving office, he continued to carry out the above acts together with Gaohe Auto, and was able to launch plagiarized products in a very short time within the R&D delivery cycle far lower than the industry law requires. The suspected illegal and even criminal behavior of Ding Lei and Gao He not only brought huge economic losses to FF, but also brought shame to the industry, seriously damaging the innovation source of the industry and distorting its values.
For a long time, Ding Lei and Gao He have misled the media, users, and investors through false disclosure and false communication, while continuously smearing FF, causing significant damage to FF's reputation.
Jia Yueting also said at the end of the article, "It's time to expose Li Gui and uphold justice..."
Former partner turned against each other and became enemies
FF's "face to face" relationship with Chinese Express and Ding Lei has long been anticipated. Not long ago, when the crisis of shutdown and production of Gaohe Automobile attracted support from some car company executives, Jia Yueting commented on a friend's circle of a capital market insider that Gaohe Automobile was "a disgrace to the industry".
It is reported that Jia Yueting has a deep connection with Ding Lei, the founder of Gaohe Automobile. As early as the beginning of Jia Yueting's car manufacturing in 2015, Ding Lei joined LeEco Automotive as co-founder, global vice chairman and CEO of LeEco Super Automotive in China and the Asia Pacific region.
The origin of Ding Lei and Jia Yueting can be traced back to 2015. In July 2015, Ding Lei joined LeEco as co-founder and global vice chairman and CEO of LeEco Super Automotive in China and the Asia Pacific region. At that time, Jia Yueting posted Weibo to welcome Ding Lei's joining, and the two actively interacted. Jia Yueting even referred to Ding Lei as a "leader level figure in the automotive industry.".
In 2017, Ding Lei announced on Weibo that due to personal health reasons, after careful consideration and full communication with LeEco founder Jia Yueting, he would no longer serve as the Global Vice Chairman and CEO of China and the Asia Pacific region of LeEco Super Cars. After leaving LeEco Auto, Ding Lei started his own business and founded Chinese Express in August 2017. On July 31, 2019, Chinese Express officially launched the new luxury intelligent pure electric brand Gaohe HiPhi in Shanghai.
Public information shows that Faraday Future (FF) was established in 2014, but its first mass-produced car, the FF 91, took 9 years to go offline. At the 2023 FF 91 Futurist mass production press conference, Jia Yueting stated that he had suffocated his dream for 9 years. However, according to official data, a total of 10 FF 91s were delivered by FF in 2023.
It is worth noting that the current development trend of both parties involved is not optimistic, and the sued Gaohe Automobile is currently struggling to survive. Faraday's future sales are even less, and its stock price has already fallen below $1.
It is reported that FF also demanded that Gaohe Automobile Company stop the production and sales of all infringing vehicles and pay billions of yuan in compensation in the above-mentioned lawsuit. In addition, the Daily Economic News reporter also learned that FF has planned to prosecute Ding Lei in the United States in the second phase. In addition to demanding high compensation, FF will also file a criminal lawsuit against Ding Lei.