TuSimple fires CEO over ties to Chinese firm; exec denies wrongdoing (updated)

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31/10/2022 19:02

(Adds details, background and shares)
       Oct 31 (Reuters) - Shares of TuSimple Holdings Inc
 TSP.O  nearly halved on Monday after the self-driving truck
startup said it had removed Chief Executive Xiaodi Hou in
connection with the company's ties to a China-backed firm.
    TuSimple said in a securities filing that an investigation
by its board showed some of its employees spent paid hours last
year working for Hydron Inc, a startup working on autonomous
trucks mostly in China.
    In connection with the evaluation of Hydron as potential
original equipment manufacturer, the company had shared
confidential information with Hydron that was not brought to the
attention of audit and government security committees, according
to TuSimple.
        Hou confirmed in a WeChat post that he had been removed
as chairman and CEO by TuSimple's board, but denied any
wrongdoing and said the move was "without cause." 
     "It is so unfair to let politics get in the way of the
dream we were pursuing together," he said.
    Hou's ouster came after a Wall Street Journal report that
TuSimple was being investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission and the Committee on Foreign Investment
(CFIUS) about its relationship with China-backed Hydron.
    The FBI, the SEC and the CFIUS did not respond to Reuters'
requests for comment.
    TuSimple has named Ersin Yumer, the vice president of
operations, as its interim CEO. 
    The company also said that it had not been able to determine
the value of the confidential information shared with Hydron.
 (Reporting By Kevin Krolicki in Singapore and Akash Sriram in
Bengaluru; editing by Peter Henderson, Chris Reese and Anil
D'Silva)
 ((peter.henderson@thomsonreuters.com; 323 251 4827;))