According to the company's board of directors, Austin Russell, who became a billionaire after the publication of Lidar startup Luminar, appears to be the CEO.

Luminar's board announced Wednesday that the same day as the first quarter earnings report - it replaced Russell and appointed Paul Ricci to the position. Ricci is the former chairman and CEO of Nuance.

Russell resigned from his post as president and CEO and took effect immediately, the press release noted. The board of directors said in a press release that the resignation follows the Code of Business Conduct and the Code of Inquiry from the Audit Committee of the Ethics Committee. Russell will remain on the board and “toward transition and technology-critical CEOs available.”

However, it is not yet clear whether Russell was forced to refuse or whether he was willing to resign. Russell was unable to comment. The Board did not provide further details of this ethics enquiry, but only "will not affect any financial performance of the company."

A further twist, the company's earnings report and slide presentation did not mention leadership changes. The first quarter press release even included Russell's optimistic statement.

“In a macro uncertainty and adversity, we are shooting at all cylinders to increase production, reduce costs and capitalize on the future, as evidenced by our announcement today,” Russell said in the statement. “This begins our new operational plan for Luminar through a unified product platform, thus unlocking the focus and streamlining of the business and value across the organization.”

Meanwhile, the board’s press release tells another story.

“We are delighted to announce Paul as our next CEO,” Board member Matt Simoncini said in a statement. “His journey is self-evident. He is a visionary leader with rare technical insights and outstanding excellence. His commitment to innovation, the ability to expand the organization and the ideal person for his expected technical leadership makes him the ideal person for growth in the next chapter. We are confident in the leadership talents of the board, we are confident in the leaders, and we are excited about what is going to be in the future.”

Luminar broke into the scene of self-driving cars in April 2017 after years of confidentiality. Russell, who was only 22 years old at the time, was attracted by people and became a success story in Silicon Valley. Luminar was founded by Russell in 2012, but it took his company to be known to the public for several years. He worked as a Thiel Fellow, working in Luminar Technology, offering young people $100,000 in two years to drop out of school and pursue their ideas.

In 2021, Luminar merged with special purpose acquisition company Gores Metropoulos Inc., with a market valuation after the transaction was US$3.4 billion. Luminar raised $250 million ahead of the SPAC announcement.