Jia Yueting, the billionaire tech entrepreneur who now controls the electric-car startup Faraday Future, may have to give up a piece of the company and several others in which he owns a stake. Leshi Internet Information and Technology, a publicly traded business Jia founded in China, wants an equity stake in the automotive upstarts in which Jia is a shareholder – which include Faraday Future, LeSEE, and Lucid Motors – because of debts owed by Jia and the embattled tech conglomerate LeEco. Tech billionaire Jia Yueting, the man who founded the electronics conglomerate LeEco and operates the electric-car startup Faraday Future, is being pursued by another company he founded because of unpaid debts in China. Leshi Internet Information and Technology, a Shenzen, China-based business Jia founded in 2004, alleges that Jia and LeEco owe the company about $1.17 billion (7.5 billion yuan), Reuters reported this week, citing … [Read more...] about The billionaire who controls electric-car startup Faraday Future is being pursued by another company he founded for billions in unpaid debt
Electric cars
These 6 electric cars will pose the biggest threat to Tesla’s Model 3
Tesla has struggled to hit its production goals for the Model 3. As Tesla struggles to deliver on its first mass-market electric car, a number of other brands are updating models they have been able to produce reliably or revealing upcoming electric cars that will compete with the Model 3 in the near future. They include the 2018 Nissan Leaf, BMW Mini E, and Volkswagen I.D. After receiving hundreds of thousands of pre-orders for its much-hyped Model 3 electric sedan, Tesla has struggled to build and deliver the car on time. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company didn’t come close to meeting its 2017 Model 3 production goals, and it doesn’t seem like the company will master the production process for the car anytime soon. As Tesla struggles to deliver on its first mass-market electric car, a number of other brands are updating models they have been able to produce reliably or revealing upcoming electric … [Read more...] about These 6 electric cars will pose the biggest threat to Tesla’s Model 3
Electric car start-up boss is willing to bet his entire fortune on beating Tesla
What do you do for a next act if you’re in your 30s and sitting on millions from selling a successful mobile browser business to China’s biggest online commerce company? Early retirement? Cruise around the world? Buy an island in the Caribbean?If you’re He Xiaopeng, none of the above.Now 40, He has taken the money from selling his UCWeb browser business to China’s Alibaba Group and bet it on a car start-up to upend the likes of General Motors, Volkswagen and Tesla.It seemed so much of a long shot that his wife asked if they will still have money after he is done, to which he replied: “At least we will still have our brains.”Gambling his wealth away on a whim, however, was far from his mind as He did back-to-back media interviews about Xiaopeng Motors in a suite at the Rio casino hotel off the Las Vegas Strip. Earlier last week, he unveiled his eponymous company’s first production model at the CES technology fair.“From where I stand, … [Read more...] about Electric car start-up boss is willing to bet his entire fortune on beating Tesla
Everyone is making the same big mistake about electric cars
Electric cars are cheaper to own over the long term than gas-powered vehicles. But consumers aren’t always guided by cost when they buy a vehicle. Thus far, the EV value proposition hasn’t created a big market for the new technology. Compared to just a decade ago, we have a lot more choices when it comes to buying an electric car. Short-range EVs such as the Nissan Leaf and the BMW i3 have been around for years, and long-range, mass-market EVs like the Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model S have started to arrive. Electric vehicles continue to make up a tiny percentage of global sales – only about 1% – but more are on the way, so presumably that datapoint will improve over time. Unfortunately, much of the analysis around EVs’ potential tends to lump all EVs together, ignoring some of the obvious dynamics of the auto market. On average, running a vehicle on electricity is over 50% more cost-effective that … [Read more...] about Everyone is making the same big mistake about electric cars
Chinese-backed electric car start-up Byton woos CES with model 40% cheaper than a Tesla
Byton, a Chinese-backed electric car start-up, plans to challenge Tesla in the US with a mid-sized SUV that features Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa and a 49-inch, edge-to-edge dashboard display.The company is touting it as the first “smart intuitive vehicle” and a digital living room on wheels, and it will cost about 40 per cent less than a Tesla Model X.Byton, led by former BMW executive Carsten Breitfeld and Infiniti China head Daniel Kirchert, unveiled its concept SUV at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Sunday.The model will go into production and sale next year in China, and hit American and European markets a year later.The car also features facial recognition access, real-time monitoring of health vital signs, hand-gesture control and cloud-based data storage.The Byton will be able to drive itself in situations such as traffic jams and be able to handle most driving conditions from 2020.“Leveraging technology is the essence of the brand … [Read more...] about Chinese-backed electric car start-up Byton woos CES with model 40% cheaper than a Tesla