Prince Andrew advisor pitched Jeffrey Epstein on investing in EV startups like Lucid Motors

Electric conveyance startup Lucid Motors was scrambling to rise a Series D backing circular successful 2017. It had courted Ford arsenic a imaginable investor, but Jia Yueting, the laminitis of rival EV startup Faraday Future, had softly amassed astir a 30% involvement and was fundamentally blocking caller investors.

David Stern, a mysterious businessman and adjacent advisor to erstwhile Prince Andrew, saw an accidental to interruption the logjam: bring successful Jeffrey Epstein. 

“Ford volition apt beryllium pb successful $400m Series D successful Lucid. Big strategical move,” Stern wrote to Epstein successful emails released past week arsenic portion of the Department of Justice’s latest disclosure of 3 cardinal documents related to Epstein. Jia “has monolithic currency issues” astatine Faraday, helium wrote, and needs to “sell present to marque payroll for his different business.”

It wasn’t the archetypal EV startup Stern pitched Epstein, and it wouldn’t beryllium the last, according to hundreds of documents reviewed by TechCrunch. 

At the time, bequest automakers and recently minted startups, fueled by the breakthrough occurrence of Tesla and advancement by Google’s self-driving project, were jumping into electrical and autonomous vehicles. And Stern was seemingly bare to instrumentality vantage of the resulting woody flow. The documents amusement helium besides pitched investments successful Faraday Future itself, and successful different EV startup, Canoo. 

It’s improbable Epstein invested successful immoderate of them. Lucid didn’t adjacent its Series D until precocious 2018, erstwhile it raised much than $1 cardinal from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealthiness fund. Faraday yet received a large concern from Chinese existent property conglomerate Evergrande successful precocious 2017. Epstein said successful a 2018 connection included successful the Justice Department’s files that helium had nary “direct” oregon “indirect” involvement successful Canoo.

These discussions alternatively supply greater penetration into the many connections Epstein, a convicted enactment offender, had to Silicon Valley startups up until his apprehension and decease successful 2019. They besides supply a snapshot of a narration that has not been explored successful erstwhile reporting.  

By the clip of the Lucid emails, Epstein and Stern had been moving unneurotic intimately for astir a decade, the recently released documents show.  To Epstein, Stern was “my china contact.” To Stern, Epstein was “my mentor, and I bash what helium tells me.”

A ‘Ghost’ of a businessman

Prince Andrew, Duke of York (left) astatine the opening of Pitch@Palace 6.0. David Stern is sitting adjacent to Queen Elizabeth II. (Image credits: Getty/John Stillwell)

Stern is simply a mostly integer shade with small accusation disposable astir him connected the net anterior to the merchandise of the files. 

He is possibly best-known arsenic the manager of Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace startup contest, which ran for a fewer years until Andrew’s connections to Epstein were exposed. Andrew himself adjacent referred to Stern arsenic a “ghost” successful one 2010 email. 

Stern appears to person archetypal approached Epstein successful 2008, according to the emails released by the DOJ — conscionable 1 period earlier the financier pled blameworthy to soliciting a insignificant for prostitution successful Florida. Stern was creating a fund, called AGC Capital, to instrumentality vantage of the economical roar successful China, and helium wanted Epstein to invest. 

(It’s not wide however Stern was introduced to Epstein. Stern did not respond to a elaborate database of questions for this article.)

Stern, who is German, attended the University of London and Shi-Da University successful China successful the precocious 1990s, and served arsenic president of Millenium Capital China, the Chinese limb of Millennium Capital Partners, according to the bio conception of the AGC Capital pitch deck, which is successful the DOJ’s files.

Stern besides worked for Siemens negotiating “industrial Joint Ventures with Chinese State Owned enterprises,” earlier joining the Shanghai bureau of Deutsche Bank. He started a institution called Asia Gateway successful 2001 that “advised bluish spot companies, Chinese enterprises arsenic good arsenic the Chinese authorities successful maturation strategies and investments.” 

These jobs look to person helped Stern marque connections with almighty and affluent Chinese businessmen, including Li Botan — the son-in-law of the fourth-most elder person successful China nether Xi Jinping’s predecessor Hu Jintao. (Li would yet spell connected to go a founding capitalist successful Canoo with Stern.) 

It’s not wide if Epstein invested successful AGC Capital; the financier spent the adjacent twelvemonth serving his sentence. But Stern and Epstein remained successful touch, and successful 2009 Stern started pitching different ideas. 

The documents uncover a narration that starts disconnected ceremonial and terse, with Epstein astatine 1 constituent excoriating Stern for not having decently prepared a imaginable concern deal. 

“[I]f you privation to bash existent deals you person to beryllium precise and careful„ each mistake is simply a fortune,” Epstein wrote. “[Y]our archetypal people is an F.”

David Stern with Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, and erstwhile Prince Andrew.Image credits: Department of Justice files released successful February 2026.

One of the archetypal large projects the 2 men collaborated connected was helping the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, with her miserable finances, according to the emails.

The narration deepened implicit the pursuing decade. The 2 men got adjacent capable that Stern felt comfy asking Epstein successful 2016 to go the godfather of 1 of his children. (Epstein wrote that helium was “flattered” but declined due to the fact that helium “made a committedness to my goddaughter that I would not beryllium godfather to anyone else.”) 

It’s hard to accidental however fruitful the narration was connected the concern side. But betwixt 2009 and 2019, Stern brought Epstein a fig of imaginable deals crossed assorted industries. 

Early on, helium seems to person been dormant acceptable connected starting a “secret” caller fund with Epstein to put successful Chinese businesses together, which helium referred to arsenic JEDS – the 2 men’s initials combined. (It was besides referred to successful immoderate emails arsenic “Serpentine Group.”) Stern aboriginal pitched buying farmland successful Russia, suggested purchasing the quality enactment Al-Jazeera and taking it public, discussed buying troubled euphony steadfast EMI, and considered acquiring an seemingly distressed (and unnamed) undersea cablegram company.

They besides had their eyes connected banks. Stern and Epstein attempted to bargain Luxembourg-headquartered backstage slope Sal. Oppenheim, the emails show. In 2016, they adjacent discussed a buyout of Deutsche Bank, which had for years transacted with Epstein.

Stern repeatedly flaunted his connections with high-profile businessmen and politicians successful his emails to Epstein and his different contacts. In February 2012, Stern suggested Epstein present Jes Staley — the caput of J.P. Morgan’s concern slope astatine the clip – to Malaysian person Anwar Ibrahim. 

“I cognize Anwar well,” Stern wrote. “If helium becomes premier curate of malayisa [Staley] volition cleanable up and it could beryllium a golden excavation for JPM.” (Ibrahim mislaid a contested predetermination successful 2013 but became premier curate successful 2022.)

Stern besides claimed to person had dinner with Jack Ma, had a planned gathering “alone” with UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and said helium was “friends” with the grandson of erstwhile Chinese president Jiang Zemin.

Going Electric

By 2017, Stern was seemingly eyeing the unreserved to physique caller mobility companies.

He tried to get Epstein to conscionable Faraday Future laminitis Jia to sermon an investment. It’s not wide if that ever happened; the institution and Jia did not respond to requests for comment. 

But erstwhile BMW and Deutsche Bank CFO Stefan Krause, who had been brought successful to prevention Faraday Future, made a nonstop entreaty to Epstein successful April 2017.

“Faraday Future (FF) is simply a large communicative successful itself, regretfully surrounded by a batch of sound astir Jia Yueting (YT) and his different enterprises (LeEco, LeMall, LeSports, to sanction a few). These businesses are not working, truthful helium tally retired of cash. FF is starving,” Krause wrote to Epstein. “Great accidental to physique a amended Tesla.” 

(Krause is described arsenic a “friend” and a concern spouse of Stern’s successful the documents. He didn’t respond to a petition for comment.) 

It appears those conversations petered out. Soon after, Stern suggested the Lucid Motors investment. 

In May 2017, a transportation platform landed successful Epstein’s inbox. It was put unneurotic by a money called Monstera that Stern had created. “Monstera tin summation a 32% shareholding successful Lucid done the acquisition of the involvement presently controlled by Yueting Jia,” 1 descent reads. Other emails amusement that Stern expected to walk astir $300 cardinal to acquire the 32% stake.

He referred to it arsenic a “fire sale” successful emails. Monstera could either clasp the presumption oregon “[o]ffload” it “when Ford comes in.”

Ford yet pulled out, and Lucid had to hold to adjacent its Series D until August 2018, erstwhile Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund invested much than $1 billion. (SEC filings amusement the Saudi sovereign wealthiness money repurchased Jia’s shares implicit the adjacent fewer years. Lucid did not respond to a petition for comment.)

When Krause near Faraday Future to commencement a caller EV institution successful precocious 2017 — archetypal called Evelozcity and later, Canoo — Stern was 1 of the archetypal backers. He contributed conscionable $1 cardinal alongside larger sums from Li, the CCP-connected Chinese businessman, and Michael Chiang, a billionaire who runs Taiwanese electronics elephantine TPK. (Li’s engagement aboriginal triggered a nationalist information reappraisal erstwhile Canoo went nationalist successful 2020.) 

In June 2018, Stern sent Epstein a papers astir the startup, to which Epstein responded: “fun.” 

But Epstein ne'er invested successful Canoo, either. He did, however, transportation almighty radical connected Stern’s behalf. Epstein emailed Deepak Chopra successful May 2018 and told the self-help guru that “david has a caller electrical car co successful los angeles.” He told Chopra “they are going to physique the adjacent gen wellness sensors into the car. you guys should talk.” 

In June 2019, Epstein sent a connection to Eduardo Teodorani, an Italian businessman who is simply a elder vice president of agriculture machinery elephantine CNH. “My person David stern… has a electrical car co that I deliberation you should research earlier helium sells it to different co,” Epstein wrote. Epstein besides connected Stern with Sheikh Jabor al Thani, a subordinate of the Qatari royal family, connected June 29 truthful helium could “hear much astir your car co.” 

One week aft helium sent that message, Epstein was arrested. He died successful situation a period later.

It’s not wide erstwhile Stern past spoke to Epstein. But successful March 2019, helium forwarded a communicative to Epstein titled: “Warren Buffet: Electric Cars Are Very Much successful America’s Future.” In the assemblage of the email, Stern wrote: “How bash we get him ??”