Faraday Chief Designer Quits

Richard Kim has resigned from Faraday Future Inc., where he had served as vice president of design since the California-based electric vehicle startup was launched in 2014.

Kim, a former BMW AG designer who penned that company’s i3 and i8 EVs, quit Faraday on Tuesday, The Verge reports. The tech publication cites unnamed company sources. At Faraday, Kim designed the stylish FF 91 supercar that the company unveiled in January.

Kim’s departure follows those of several other former top Faraday executives in recent months as the cash-strapped company struggles to find new investors. Last month chief financial officer Stefan Krause and chief technical officer Ulrich Kranz resigned. Both executives had been hired away from BMW earlier this year to try to revive the startup.

Krause and Kranz reportedly clashed with tech billionaire Jia Yueting, who continues to lead Faraday after being ousted as the head of China’s Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp. for implementing an overly aggressive expansion plan. Faraday has threatened legal actions against Krause for “malfeasance and dereliction of duty.”

Alan Cherry and Tom Wessner, who headed Faraday’s human resources and supply chain group, left the company in August and October, respectively. Both executives previously worked for Tesla Inc. and had joined Faraday at about the same time Kim did.

Krause’s departure has been described as a tipping point by a number of former employees and other industry sources, according to The Verge. Krause reportedly had been working on potential deals with India’s Mahindra & Mahindra and other carmakers. Other reports say he also had prepared papers for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, a step Jia rejected.