Jia Yueting is going all out. He has recruited former executives from NIO and Li Auto and is ready to make a big move.
Former NIO and Li Auto Executives Join FF, Giving Jia Yueting Another Key Figure
Jia Yueting has once again surprised everyone.
Recently, Li Jun, a former executive of NIO and Li Auto, officially joined Faraday Future (FF), founded by Jia Yueting, serving as the Vice President of Global Supply Chain and the Chief Strategy and Business Growth Officer for the China region.
Image source: Weibo
It is reported that as early as August 2024, Li Jun visited FF in Los Angeles to support Jia Yueting's "Bridge Strategy". In August this year, Li Jun accepted the offer from Jia Yueting across the ocean.
What attracts the most attention from the outside world is Li Jun's nearly 20 years of work experience in the automotive industry.
In 2005, Li Jun joined Delphi (China) Automotive Systems Co., Ltd. and worked there for nearly 10 years, eventually becoming the Purchasing Director of the Powertrain System for the Asia-Pacific region.
After that, he worked at Magna Automotive Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Faurecia (China) Investment Co., Ltd. respectively.
In 2020, Li Jun's career took a turn as he moved from a parts company to a vehicle manufacturer.
First, at Li Auto, he successively served as the Senior Director of Supply Chain Management for the Powertrain and Thermal Management Systems and the General Manager of the Supply Chain Parts Cluster, leading the construction of the core parts supply system.
Then, he joined NIO, where he was transferred to be the Assistant Vice President of the Supply Chain, responsible for optimizing supply chain management. He is a senior expert in NIO's supply chain system.
Now, Li Jun has joined Jia Yueting's automotive manufacturing team, leveraging his experience in supply chain integration to help FF connect resources in the Chinese and American markets.
Li Jun's joining is also regarded by the outside world as a key talent deployment for Jia Yueting's "Bridge between Chinese and American Automotive Industries" strategy.
The so - called "Bridge between Chinese and American Automotive Industries" strategy, as Jia Yueting once said, aims to connect the Chinese and American automotive markets through the industrial fulcrum built by FF in the United States. It helps Chinese automakers enter the US market at a lower cost and sell cars in the US as locally - produced vehicles. At the same time, it combines US technology and compliance systems with China's supply chain advantages to achieve a "win - win" situation.
Image source: Google
In other words, one of the cores is the control of the supply chain. Then, the importance of Li Jun's role after joining FF is self - evident.
In addition, obtaining the authorization from Great Wall Motors is also a key part of FF's supply chain optimization.
On July 17th, Faraday Future (abbreviated as "FF") launched its first product, the FX Super One. Notably, the front grille of the car was modified into a large screen. The on - site introduction stated that this is the world's first Super Smart Face (FF Super EAI F.A.C.E.), which can transform the car into an embodied intelligent life form with perception, emotion, and evolutionary ability.
Image source: FF official website
However, some netizens noticed that the FX Super One is very similar in body shape to the WEY Gaoshan 9 under Great Wall Motors. Inevitably, there were voices questioning whether Jia Yueting's new car copied Great Wall Motors?
Image source: Weibo
Some netizens also found that the promotional page of the FX Super One on the FF official website once showed the words "Gaoshan 9", but the relevant description has now been deleted.
Image source: Weibo
Soon, the answer was revealed. It turned out to be a "benefit exchange" between Jia Yueting and Wei Jianjun.
Through the cooperation, the FX Super One has obtained the authorization from the WEY Gaoshan, which can further connect the Chinese and American automotive markets and integrate the supply chain.
Regarding why he is looking in China, Jia Yueting once explained: "The cost of the overseas supply chain is many times higher than that in China. One of FF's major strategies is to fully shift to the Chinese supply chain. The Chinese supply chain can guarantee both cost and efficiency, which are completely different from the overseas ones."
FF headquarters Image source: Google
Moreover, it is reported that Great Wall Motors is one of the four Chinese partner automakers in Jia Yueting's "Bridge between Chinese and American Automotive Industries" strategy and is the first automaker to implement this strategy.
On the WEY Gaoshan side, following his long - term vision, Wei Jianjun started exporting pickup trucks to the Middle East early on to layout for globalization. Through FF as a "bridge", Great Wall Motors not only has a better chance of entering the US market but also can integrate global parts resources and improve supply chain efficiency with the help of FF's industrial fulcrum.
Generally speaking, it is a "win - win" situation.
However, neither Great Wall Motors nor FF has made an official response to this "cooperation" so far.
It is worth mentioning that the order volume of the new car FX Super One has lived up to expectations. As of July 31, 2025, the cumulative number of paid orders for the first model of FF's FX brand, the FX, has exceeded 10,000. Among them, there are 10,034 orders from individual consumers (C - end) and 4,100 orders from businesses (B - end, including enterprises and car rental companies).
Jia Yueting and the FX Super One Image source: Weibo
However, although the order volume has increased, the delivery is still far off. After 11 years of car - making, FF has only delivered 18 cars, a rather absurd number.
This further exposes the shortcoming of FF's supply chain. In this regard, Jia Yueting said directly to the media in 2024: "The current biggest obstacle is not production capacity. Our factory currently has a production capacity of 10,000 units. The biggest bottleneck is the supply chain. The biggest bottleneck in the supply chain is the funding problem. Because our current funds are still not enough to pay sufficient advance payments to suppliers, the supply chain is still very difficult. Currently, we are still at the stage of producing one car per month."
With Li Jun's joining, it may make up for FF's fatal flaw. As for Jia Yueting's promise of "repaying debts and returning to China", we'll just have to wait and see.
Making cars and speculating in cryptocurrencies, what is Jia Yueting up to?
In addition to car - making, recently, Jia Yueting has a new story to tell.
On August 17th, at a press conference in Pebble Beach, California, Jia Yueting announced his foray into the cryptocurrency industry: He plans to invest 500 million - 1 billion US dollars in the top ten mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, launch the first cryptocurrency index fund in the US stock market, "C10 Treasury", and apply for a cryptocurrency ETF license.
Image source: FF official website
The so - called C10 Treasury plan is to track the performance of the top ten mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum and achieve asset appreciation through the "indexed investment + active management" strategy. It is both an investment tool for FF in the cryptocurrency field and part of the financing plan.
Regarding profitability, Jia Yueting is as idealistic as ever.
He said that the predicted annual deposit interest rate in the industry is 3% - 5%. If the treasury reaches a scale of 1 billion US dollars, the annual income can reach 30 - 50 million US dollars. This income will be distributed according to the "one - third, one - third, one - third" principle: one - third will be invested in car - making, one - third will be put back into the "treasury" for appreciation, and one - third will be used to repurchase Faraday Future stocks.
He also calculated the account for investors: With a "treasury" of 1 billion US dollars, the stable annual income is 30 - 50 million US dollars. In other words, you give me the money, and I'll give you the returns - doesn't this sound familiar?
Image source: X
Looking back, the rapid rise of LeEco seems to follow a familiar pattern.
LeEco started in the video industry. After being packaged by Jia Yueting, in 2012, LeEco proposed an ecological model of "platform + content + terminal + application". Its business scope continued to expand, covering multiple fields such as smart TVs, mobile phones, cars, sports, and finance. Its stock price soared, and its total market value once exceeded 150 billion yuan.
In 2015, LeEco's revenue increased by as much as 90% year - on - year, almost exponential growth, making it a big star in the eyes of investment institutions.
Image source: Baidu
As we all know, later, LeEco's debt increased year by year, with liabilities far exceeding assets. The company's capital chain broke, and Jia Yueting left, leaving behind the famous line "I'll be back next week".
According to information from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, LeEco committed financial fraud for ten consecutive years from 2007 to 2016, with a cumulative inflated revenue of 18.7 billion yuan and a profit of 17.4 billion yuan. In 2015, the inflated profit ratio was as high as 516%.
From this perspective, Jia Yueting's current cryptocurrency speculation may just be a replay of the past story. Given his past record, it is difficult for the investment market to be as generous to Jia Yueting as before.
In conclusion, for Jia Yueting at present, focusing on making cars properly may be the foundation for all future possibilities.
This article is from the WeChat public account "Internet Headlines", author: Song Hui. Republished by 36Kr with authorization.