Report: LeEco's self-driving car was actually piloted by remote control and designed by Faraday Future
Buzzfeed News reported today that LeEco leaned on Faraday Future, the startup it has a strategic partnership with, to design its self-driving car, the LeSee. LeEco's CEO Jia Yueting is a personal investor in Faraday Future.
Faraday Future employees were pulled off their core projects to work on LeSee car that was shown on stage at an event in April. The car, said to boast autonomous capabilities at the event, was actually being piloted backstage via a remote control, Buzzfeed reported.
Faraday Future declined to comment for this story.
LeEco did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment.
The news comes a month after Yueting told LeEco staff that the company was facing a shortage of cash from expanding too fast and in too many directions.
Faraday Future has had troubles of its own. It stopped work at its $1 billion factory in North Las Vegas and is likely to miss the shipping deadline for its production vehicles that were said to come to market some time in 2017.
Dan Schwartz, Nevada's state treasurer, has been a vocal skeptic of the Faraday Future project since Nevada offered the startup millions in tax incentives to build its factory.
Buzzfeed News also reported that a lawsuit was filed against Faraday Future from auto supplier Futuris for falling behind on $10 million worth of payments. Another lawsuit, from by Beim Maple Properties, alleges Faraday Future is behind roughly $105,000 in rent payments for a warehouse.
Read the full Buzzfeed News report here.