(Bloomberg) -- Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc., the electric-vehicle startup, was sued by a top shareholder group that includes its founder, the latest salvo in a battle for control of the company.

FF Top Holding LLC, which owns about 20% of Faraday’s shares but has voting rights for roughly 36%, said in a lawsuit filed Monday in Delaware Chancery Court that the startup is “suffering from a crisis of leadership at the board level.” The group is seeking the resignation or removal of two directors, including executive chair and longtime technology executive Susan Swenson. 

Faraday is struggling to stay afloat. The Los Angeles-based startup delayed the launch of its first electric SUV in July, and its auditor, PricewaterhouseCoppers, resigned in August. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a probe into Faraday’s financial statements, and the Department of Justice has asked for information as well. Faraday recently reported having just $47.2 million in cash as of Aug. 26.

FF Top Holding has spent the last few months agitating to shake up the board. The investors said a shareholder agreement made with the company just before it began trading gives them the right to remove its own nominees -- a claim Faraday disputes. The shareholder group says in the lawsuit that China Evergrande Group, which also owns roughly 20% of Faraday Future’s outstanding shares, supports its position.

The investors allege that a “bitterly divided” board “has driven the company into the ground,” and said Swenson and another director, former chairman Brian Krolicki, are trying to “push the company into an unnecessary bankruptcy.” 

Faraday’s board agreed to put Krolicki’s removal to a shareholder vote, but hasn’t set a date for either a special meeting or its annual meeting.

The company didn’t immediately respond to questions about the lawsuit. Shares of Faraday were down 3.2% to 93 cents in New York.

The automaker has said in regulatory filings it believes FF Top and its parent, FF Global Partners LLC, to be under the influence of founder Jia Yueting. Jia was sidelined in April after an internal probe led by Swenson concluded that managers misled investors on Jia’s day-to-day control and influence.

The case is FF Top Holding LLC vs Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc., 2022-0834, Delaware Court of Chancery.

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