TuSimple, which is partly owned by UPS, is making self-driving trucks, a technology that could be one of the innovations to help reduce long-term inflation in the transportation sector.
Source: TuSimple
Self-driving truck launch TuSimple fired its CEO Xiaoji Hou after an internal investigation uncovered improper deals and a possible technology transfer to a Chinese firm led by TuSimple’s now-departed co-founder, the company said Monday.
The San Diego-based startup’s chief operating officer, Ersin Hummer, will serve as CEO and president while TuSimple’s board of directors searches for a permanent successor. Howe was also the company’s chief technology officer.
TuSimple shares fell more than 40% in midday trading following the news.
TuSimple said in a regulatory filing on Monday that, based on a board investigation, it believes some of its employees in 2021 spent paid hours working for Hydron, a Chinese startup developing autonomous hydrogen-powered trucks. Those employees shared confidential information with Hydron before signing a nondisclosure agreement, according to TuSimple.
The board’s investigation began in July and is ongoing, the company said.
U statement posted on LinkedIn on Monday, Howe said he had been fired “without reason” and that he was confident he would be “vindicated” in time.
“I have been completely transparent in my professional and personal life, and I have cooperated fully with the Board because I have nothing to hide,” Howe wrote. “I want to make it clear that I fundamentally deny any suggestion of wrongdoing.”
The company’s relationship with Hydron is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the report Monday’s The Wall Street Journal. According to the report, investigators are looking into whether TuSimple management failed to disclose information about its transactions with Hydron and whether those transactions harmed TuSimple investors.
A TuSimple spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of the Journal report.
Howe co-founded TuSimple in 2015 and became its CEO in March of this year. Shortly after taking the top job, he told CNBC that he wanted to be an “evangelist” for the potential of autonomous trucking.
“Who is the best person to lead this company? It’s me! Because I’m a tireless decision-making machine backed by technical education,” Howe said in CNBC interview March 30.
Hydron was founded in 2021 by Mo Chen, another TuSimple co-founder who previously served as executive chairman. Hydron initially announced plans to build electric trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells in North America, but so far its operations have been primarily in China.
TuSimple will report third-quarter results on Monday after the market closes, but postponed its conference call until Tuesday morning.
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