What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 481 Bundling
The two masterminds behind the over-the-top incident have met in Lingang, and the turmoil in the global automotive industry has not yet subsided.

Whether it's diesel emissions fraud, two market monopolies, or Martin's embezzlement, all of these cases are destined to require a lengthy legal process before a result is seen. Some media outlets predict that many automakers and suppliers may face fines of up to $500 billion.

However, even before this fine, which may not be paid out for some time, is being paid out, the automotive industry itself is already suffering a huge blow. Sales statistics from May to June show that sales of diesel passenger vehicles have plummeted by 35%, and all automakers with diesel vehicle businesses will inevitably have to adjust their sales expectations for the second half of the year.

Furthermore, the future of diesel passenger vehicles globally has become increasingly uncertain.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that newly appointed Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Müller is considering withdrawing from the U.S. diesel car market and increasing strategic focus on electric vehicles.

Yu Xing is still actively following industry news and feels that this may indeed be something that Volkswagen is considering internally, but its legal liquidation is a big problem.

On the last day of June, Liu Wanying, representing Red Falcon Capital, attended an investment conference in Nanjing, where she discussed the recent storms in the automotive industry and touted the prospects of electric vehicles.

That evening, Yu Xing received a call from Xu Xin of Capital Today.

"I haven't seen President Liu recently. I heard she went overseas to raise funds?" Xu Xin laughed as soon as the call connected. "I saw her in Nanjing today talking about electric vehicles. You two work together quite well. One of you is working hard to build cars, and the other is creating a buzz with capital."

“Yes, she just flew back a few days ago. I thought she would take a break.” Yu Xing said with a hint of helplessness. “But after adjusting to the time difference for two days, she started meeting people to discuss projects, saying that she wanted to take President Xu as her role model and become one of the top investors in the country.”

Xu Xin laughed loudly: "Alright, alright, I can tell from those words that you two are talking about me behind my back."

Yu Xing and Xu Xin chatted for a while.

“Your automotive industry has been quite lively lately, but this is a good thing for Silicon Carbon Group.” Xu Xin changed the subject and said, “Recently, all listed car companies around the world have been declining, except for Tesla, whose stock price has risen by 30% from May to this month.”

"Volkswagen, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW will all have lawsuits next year, the year after, and even the year after that. I think this is likely to be a turning point for the global automotive industry. If Silicon Carbon Group can go public in the next two years, that would be great."

Tesla is the only winner among publicly traded automakers. Because of this biggest beneficiary, some conspiracy theorists have even speculated that this storm was a conspiracy between Tesla and Guoshanfeng.

In any case, the "over-the-peak" short seller is a versatile player; he can collude with insiders and executives in car companies, with US hedge funds, and even with regulators.

Yu Xing pondered for a moment and said, "We can launch it to the market as early as the beginning of next year. If the feedback in the first half of the year is good, we do plan to try to raise some money from the stock market in the second half of the year, but I haven't paid much attention to this timing."

Silicon Carbon Group is short of money. From now until its potential rapid IPO in the future, it still needs a round of funding for mass production. Moreover, considering the need to establish more technological advantages as soon as possible, Yu Xing hopes to further increase the proportion of R&D investment.

Once the silicon carbon group proves its mass production capabilities, it can go public without needing to become profitable in the future, with the US stock market being its first choice.

Xu Xin discussed the future listing direction for a while, organized her words in her mind, and still mentioned the ultimate purpose of this call, which was that Today Capital might not be able to provide much financial support for the Series C financing of Silicon Carbon Group.

Capital Today has already invested a lot of resources in Silicon Carbon Group, and this year it also participated in the financing of Silicon Carbon Data. According to usual practice, this stage is about right.

Yu Xing was a little surprised but not too surprised. He listened silently to the pressure from Capital Today for a while, and then said, "Sister Xin, don't tease me. You guys made so much money betting on JD.com. Just sell some stocks and my little bit of money will be taken care of."

Xu Xin explained, "We plan to hold our shares on JD.com for the long term and will not touch them for the next five years. Mr. Yu, to be honest, if it weren't for you, Capital Today might not have gotten involved in investing in electric vehicles."

The implication is that things are already fine, and Capital Today has been very generous.

Yu Xing thought for a moment, knowing that this was the focus of tonight's call, and asked again, "Sister Xin, have you discussed this with President Xiong and the others? If it's a mutual decision, I'll need to put in more effort for this Series C funding round and contact them in advance."

“No, I haven’t spoken with Mr. Xiong,” Xu Xin said. “IDG should be able to continue supporting us in the Series C round.”

Yu Xing sighed: "Then I'll call President Xiong tomorrow. Oh, and I'll call President Li later to ask. He said he's going to make money by shorting stocks in China."

Xu Xin's heart skipped a beat when she heard the second half of the sentence, but she still calmly asked, "Huh? President Li? Which President Li?" Yu Xing said, "President Li Song, he came to my place last time to talk about how to make money, saying that he wanted to start a business in China."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.

Yu Xing waited a moment, then asked in surprise, "President Xu, you didn't know?"

Xu Xin was genuinely unaware that "Real Research" was shifting its focus to China, nor did she know the extent of her husband's conversation with Yu Xing. At this moment, she felt somewhat uneasy, given the less-than-ideal reputation of short sellers.

She could only vaguely say, "Oh, he's impulsive and often forgets what he says the next day. You can't believe him. It's just that Guo Shanfeng has been making too much noise in the automotive industry lately, and he probably just wanted to brag after drinking."

Yu Xing's voice sounded rather doubtful: "Really? He seemed very serious. He even said that he lost a lot of money shorting abroad before."

Xu Xin's tone rose noticeably: "Hmm? Hmm, don't listen to his nonsense, President Yu, I'm waiting for good news from the Silicon Carbon Group."

She hurriedly ended the call and, armed with information she'd gotten from an outsider, torn her husband apart.

Yu Xing put down his phone and considered the Series C financing of Silicon Carbon Group, without blaming Capital Today.

To be fair, IDG and Capital Today have indeed provided a lot of support to Silicon Carbon Group. The automotive industry, being a capital-intensive sector, is not usually favored by venture capitalists. It is only now, with the guidance of domestic policies, that it has attracted more attention.

Fortunately, with the support of Red Falcon Capital, there's no need to be too nervous; the worst-case scenario is simply money flowing from one hand to the other.

The following day, on the first day of July, Yu Xing contacted Xiong Xiaoge to discuss the intention to raise Series C funding in advance and to talk about the attitude of Today Capital.

Xiong Xiaoge did not hesitate and indicated that he would continue to invest in Silicon Carbon Group.

He also mentioned a small proposal: "Mr. Yu, Mus also needs financing. Ms. Xu is good at investing in the Internet sector. Today Capital is not short of money. She may just feel that the return on investment in Silicon Carbon Group is not as cost-effective. But Mus has great potential. These two can be sold together."

Yu Xing laughed and said, "Is this a good idea? It would make it seem like I'm forcing someone to do something they don't want to do."

Xiong Xiaoge calmly said, "That's good. That's how investors are. As long as there's profit to be made, they'll only be more willing to invest."

Yu Xing couldn't help but chuckle.

He decided to finish up what he was doing and talk to Xu Xin again in a couple of days.

However, Xiong Xiaoge volunteered and was happy to continue bringing his friends into the game.

Yu Xing chatted with him about the overseas promotion of Mus. Just as he put down his phone, his secretary, Zhang Yangxu, knocked on the door and came in.

"Mr. Yu, there was a phone interview with the media this morning. They wanted to ask for your opinion on the recent events in the automotive industry," Zhang Yangxu said, already mentally prepared for his boss to refuse.

Yu Xing nodded and readily agreed: "Okay, sure."

Zhang Yangxu was somewhat taken aback. His boss had been reluctant to engage with the media lately, so why was he so decisive about this unrelated incident?

Yu Xing could see the secretary's doubts, but it was only natural to return to the scene to appreciate it.

(End of this chapter)