After bombarding Gaohe as a "disgrace to the industry", Jia Yueting finally handed over the complaint to Gaohe, which was 7 years late.
On March 5, FF announced that FF and its Chinese subsidiaries had filed a lawsuit against Ding Lei, a former FF executive and founder of Human Horizons, in the Intermediate People's Court of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, on the grounds of trade secret infringement and unfair competition. The Company requested the court to order damages and further requested Human Horizons to immediately cease and desist from infringing on the trade secrets related to FF91.
A pleadings is undoubtedly worse for Gaohe, who is currently shattered at the moment.
Even Jia Yueting posted on Weibo that in the nearly two years he was in office, Ding Lei took an income of up to 30 million yuan to steal FF's intellectual property rights, technical data and trade secrets under the pretext of his position.
In response, Gaohe said that there was no plagiarism, infringement of FF company's trade secrets and intellectual property rights, and there was no unfair competition.
In fact, after the news of Gaohe's shutdown was issued, Jia Yueting made a public statement and mercilessly "bombarded" Gaohe Automobile, calling Gaohe Automobile a "shame for the industry". Even Wang Jiawei, the former vice president of Faraday Future FF Capital, also posted that Gaohe was a thief+**
But netizens don't seem to be concerned about whether Gao He plagiarized FF, but more about Jia Yueting's intentions. Why didn't he sue when the Gaohe model was launched, but chose to sue when the Gaohe model was at its most vulnerable?
In this regard, there is a view that Jia Yueting's move may be the fulfillment of benevolence.
Because if Gao He plagiarized FF real hammer before, Jia Yueting may have been collecting evidence all these years. In the past few years, FF has not had a good time for various reasons, and there is no time to prepare for the prosecution of Gaohe.
But it seems that there are still more people who think that Jia Yueting's move is more of a fall.
As soon as the news of Gaohe's "shutdown and production stoppage" came out, it aroused widespread attention in the market. Ding Lei also said that a number of companies have expressed interest in Gaohe and want to acquire or invest. Previously, it was also reported that Chang'an and Gaohe were negotiating related acquisitions.
At this time, FF's prosecution was undoubtedly a blow to Gao He, who was eager to "come back to life". For other companies interested in acquiring Gaohe, they may also retreat.
On the other hand, the money for Saudi Arabia's investment in Gaohe has been delayed for a long time. On the other hand, FF has been making frequent moves in the Middle East since the end of last year.
At the end of last year, FF said it would tailor a limited edition model for the Middle Eastern market, the FF 91 20 futurist aifalcon, delivery planned for 2024. FF then partnered with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to establish an R&D center focused on next-generation trams and AI technologies. Even in January of this year, the FF executive team attended a royal banquet for the UAE.
This series of actions can't help but make people wonder if the FF sued Gao He this time, whether it was because the drunkard meant not to drink, but to the local tyrants in the Middle East. FF wants to take this opportunity to get new topics in the capital market, let them know who is the most worthy of investment, and use this to cut off Gaohe's financing road.
But in any case, no matter what Ding Lei's "love and hate" with Jia Yueting is, and whether Gao He plagiarizes or not, for the current Gao He, now is definitely the most difficult moment. For Jia Yueting, the pleadings after seven years inevitably came too late. Instead of holding on to a car company that may be facing bankruptcy, it is better to take care of yourself and think about your future.