But Faraday said the threats prompted Swenson and the two other board members — lead independent director Jordan Vogel and Scott Vogel — to expedite their exits.
The directors “cited such threats and their fear that their continued association with the company might heighten the risk to themselves and their respective families as the reasons for their resignations,” it said.
Faraday last month delayed the launch of its debut EV until at least next year after having pledged when it went public last year to start production by mid-2022. It cited a need for additional cash as the reason for the postponement.
‘Employee whistleblowers’
The company blamed what it called “self-described ‘employee whistleblowers’” and “various individuals and entities who represented themselves as current investors” for making allegations against the board of conspiring to run the company into the ground for their own personal benefit. Those claims were determined to be without merit, according to what it said was an independent external investigation.
Faraday has said it believes the dissident shareholder group is under the influence of co-founder Jia Yueting. He was sidelined in April after an internal probe led by Swenson concluded that managers misled investors on Jia’s day-to-day control and influence.
The Los Angeles-based startup has faced a number of other obstacles, including the resignation of its auditor. The SEC has opened a probe into Faraday’s financial statements.
