Jia Yueting insisted on driving the car himself. The Chinese entrepreneur knew that the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas could make or break his startup electric vehicle company, Faraday Future. After three years of planning and designing, Faraday was finally unveiling its first car, a sport utility vehicle called the FF91. Image mattered to Jia — who goes by the nickname Y.T. — so when it came time to drive the car on stage, he wanted to be behind the wheel.
Nick Sampson thought this was a bad idea. As co-founder and head of engineering, Sampson knew the car inside and out, and thought it would be safer for Jia to sit in the back, with Sampson in the driver’s seat. But Jia wouldn’t have it, and Sampson gave in.
The silver car rolled on stage to heavily synthesized music, and Jia emerged, smiling and wearing his trademark black hoodie and jeans. At 43, he had closely cropped hair and looked boyish, nervous even, as he gave a brief speech in rehearsed Eng
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