It’s no secret that a number of former Tesla employees are now heading up the new electric car start-up Faraday Future.
Just check out the company’s website and you will see that four of the five leaders it lists are formerly Tesla employees.
Faraday's leadership roster includes Nick Sampson, Tesla’s former head of vehicle and chassis engineering; Dag Reckhorn, Tesla’s former director of manufacturing; and Tom Wessener, the former director of purchasing at Tesla.
But you might be surprised to learn just how many employees beyond those listed once worked for Elon Musk’s electric car company.
According to a quick LinkedIn search, there are 410 people that list Faraday as their current employer. And about 73 of those listed also have Tesla as a former employer.
Now, Sampson said earlier this month at Faraday's CES event that the company currently has more than 750 employees, all of which are not listed on LinkedIn. But this figure gives you some idea of just how people the company managed to lure away from Tesla.
The majority of those who once worked at Tesla were engineers, according to data from LinkedIn. But it appears the company also zeroed in on recruiting design talent, as well.
One notable hire includes Brennan Boblett, who was one of the lead designers for Tesla's user interface inside its vehicles. Boblett, who also worked as a designer at Apple before joining Tesla, is now Faraday’s creative lead for user interface and user experience.
Faraday also poached Sue Neuhauser, a former senior automotive designer at Tesla. Neuhauser is now Faraday’s chief designer for color, materials, and finish.
The new company even managed to steal one of the guys who helped design Tesla branded products, like clothing. Bryce Shawcross, who was a graphic designer at Tesla, now works at Faraday as a creative manager for its brand design.
Faraday’s biggest design hire, though, didn’t come from Tesla, but from BMW.
Richard Kim, a former designer at BMW, is now the head of design at Faraday Future and ultimately heads up all things design related.
According to a LinkedIn search, Faraday also hired a number of former employees from Ford (47), General Motors (39), and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (22).
While Faraday has been pretty vocal about its rockstar team, the company is still a ways off from rolling out a production vehicle.
The company showed off its first concept car, the FFZero1, at CES earlier this month, but it has no plans to produce the vehicle. Kim told Tech Insider in a recent interview that the company already has several test vehicles on the road, but would not confirm when a production vehicles would be ready.
Sampson has said that the company is aiming to have its cars on the road by 2020, but when we spoke to him he made it clear that the company wouldn't begin selling cars until it could guarantee the quality of a Faraday car.
"Like everything we do, we are a little mysterious and so we really want to keep the exact dates and times somewhat under wraps at the moment. We are aiming to deliver something in the next couple of years, but quality and ensuring the right kind of product is there and everything is right on it is of paramount importance," Sampson said.
"We are fairly confident of our timing, but we will certainly make sure that everything is right when it comes out."
Tech Insider reached out to Tesla for comment and will update if we hear back. A Faraday Future spokesperson declined to comment.
