Prince Andrew Advisor Pitched Jeffrey Epstein On Investing In Ev Startups Like Lucid Motors

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

David Stern, a mysterious businessman and adjacent advisor to erstwhile Prince Andrew, saw an opportunity to break nan logjam: bring successful Jeffrey Epstein. 

“Ford will apt beryllium lead successful $400m Series D successful Lucid. Big strategical move,” Stern wrote to Epstein successful emails released past week arsenic portion of nan Department of Justice’s latest disclosure of 3 cardinal documents related to Epstein. Jia “has monolithic rate issues” astatine Faraday, he wrote, and needs to “sell now to make payroll for his different business.”

It wasn’t nan first EV startup Stern sounded Epstein, and it wouldn’t beryllium nan last, according to hundreds of documents reviewed by TechCrunch. 

At nan time, bequest automakers and recently minted startups, fueled by nan breakthrough occurrence of Tesla and advancement by Google’s self-driving project, were jumping into electrical and autonomous vehicles. And Stern was apparently quiet to return advantage of nan resulting woody flow. The documents show he besides sounded 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 awesome finance from Chinese existent property conglomerate Evergrande successful precocious 2017. Epstein said successful a 2018 connection included successful nan Justice Department’s files that he had nary “direct” aliases “indirect” liking successful Canoo.

These discussions alternatively supply greater penetration into nan many connections Epstein, a convicted activity 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 nan clip of nan Lucid emails, Epstein and Stern had been moving together intimately for astir a decade, nan recently released documents show.  To Epstein, Stern was “my china contact.” To Stern, Epstein was “my mentor, and I do what he tells me.”

A ‘Ghost’ of a businessman

Prince Andrew, Duke of York (left) astatine nan 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 pinch small accusation disposable astir him connected nan net anterior to nan merchandise of nan files. 

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

Stern appears to person first approached Epstein successful 2008, according to nan emails released by nan DOJ — conscionable 1 period earlier nan financier pled blameworthy to soliciting a insignificant for adultery successful Florida. Stern was creating a fund, called AGC Capital, to return advantage of nan economical roar successful China, and he wanted Epstein to invest. 

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

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

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

These jobs look to person helped Stern make connections pinch powerful and able Chinese businessmen, including Li Botan — nan son-in-law of nan fourth-most elder leader successful China nether Xi Jinping’s predecessor Hu Jintao. (Li would yet spell connected to go a founding investor successful Canoo pinch Stern.) 

It’s not clear if Epstein invested successful AGC Capital; nan financier spent nan 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 general and terse, pinch Epstein astatine 1 constituent excoriating Stern for not having decently prepared a imaginable business deal. 

“[I]f you want to do existent deals you person to beryllium precise and careful„ each correction is simply a fortune,” Epstein wrote. “[Y]our first people is an F.”

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

One of nan first large projects nan 2 men collaborated connected was helping nan Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, pinch her miserable finances, according to nan emails.

The narration deepened complete nan pursuing decade. The 2 men sewage adjacent capable that Stern felt comfortable asking Epstein successful 2016 to go nan godfather of 1 of his children. (Epstein wrote that he was “flattered” but declined because he “made a committedness to my goddaughter that I would not beryllium godfather to anyone else.”) 

It’s difficult to opportunity really fruitful nan narration was connected nan business side. But betwixt 2009 and 2019, Stern brought Epstein a number of imaginable deals crossed various industries. 

Early on, he seems to person been dormant group connected starting a “secret” caller fund pinch Epstein to put successful Chinese businesses together, which he referred to arsenic JEDS – nan 2 men’s initials combined. (It was besides referred to successful immoderate emails arsenic “Serpentine Group.”) Stern later pitched buying farmland successful Russia, suggested purchasing nan news statement Al-Jazeera and taking it public, discussed buying troubled euphony patient EMI, and considered acquiring an apparently 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 moreover discussed a buyout of Deutsche Bank, which had for years transacted pinch Epstein.

Stern many times flaunted his connections pinch high-profile businessmen and politicians successful his emails to Epstein and his different contacts. In February 2012, Stern suggested Epstein present Jes Staley — nan caput of J.P. Morgan’s finance slope astatine nan clip – to Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim. 

“I cognize Anwar well,” Stern wrote. “If he becomes premier curate of malayisa [Staley] will 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 pinch Jack Ma, had a planned gathering “alone” pinch UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and said he was “friends” pinch nan grandson of erstwhile Chinese president Jiang Zemin.

Going Electric

By 2017, Stern was apparently eyeing nan unreserved to build caller mobility companies.

He tried to get Epstein to meet Faraday Future laminitis Jia to talk an investment. It’s not clear if that ever happened; nan 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 awesome 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 he tally retired of cash. FF is starving,” Krause wrote to Epstein. “Great chance to build a amended Tesla.” 

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

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

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

He referred to it arsenic a “fire sale” successful emails. Monstera could either clasp nan position aliases “[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 show nan Saudi sovereign wealthiness money repurchased Jia’s shares complete nan 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 — first called Evelozcity and later, Canoo — Stern was 1 of nan original backers. He contributed conscionable $1 cardinal alongside larger sums from Li, nan CCP-connected Chinese businessman, and Michael Chiang, a billionaire who runs Taiwanese electronics elephantine TPK. (Li’s engagement later triggered a nationalist information reappraisal erstwhile Canoo went nationalist successful 2020.) 

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

But Epstein ne'er invested successful Canoo, either. He did, however, transportation powerful group connected Stern’s behalf. Epstein emailed Deepak Chopra successful May 2018 and told nan self-help guru that “david has a caller electrical car co successful los angeles.” He told Chopra “they are going to build nan adjacent gen wellness sensors into nan 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 friend David stern… has a electrical car co that I deliberation you should research earlier he sells it to different co,” Epstein wrote. Epstein besides connected Stern pinch Sheikh Jabor al Thani, a personnel of nan Qatari royal family, connected June 29 truthful he could “hear much astir your car co.” 

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

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