Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 376 Targeted Investment in Tesla

Musk stared blankly at Chen Xiu across from him, a sense of inexplicable surprise welling up inside him.

He gathered his thoughts and tentatively asked, "You already know everything I've done in China? But you're still willing to cooperate with me?"

"why not?"

"Aren't you angry?"

"Why are you angry?"

"Don't you feel like you've been played? I mean, you proposed on Twitter to build a Tesla Gigafactory in China, and I've already started doing it, but I didn't tell you beforehand."

Chen Xiu remained silent for a while, then shook her head very seriously.

"This kind of thing happened before I contacted you, so it's a fact that already existed. Knowing it sooner or later wouldn't affect the final outcome, so why should I be angry?"

"Um...you're right, but why are you still willing to invest in Tesla?"

"This is just business. In business, you only need to invest in companies you believe in. Tesla also needs funding right now, and I'm optimistic about it. We're mutually benefiting. As for your character, I don't care."

"Okay, I can accept that explanation."

Musk took a puff of his hookah, and his gaze toward Chen Xiu became more cautious than before.

He pondered for a moment and then said, "You just mentioned targeted investment. Could you elaborate?"

As they got down to business, a smile appeared on Chen Xiu's face.

"Actually, I've been a Tesla shareholder for a long time, but my shareholding is not high."

"Really?"

“I started investing in Tesla in 15. I sold a few times in between, but those were just normal reductions and portfolio adjustments. Last month, when other institutions were shorting the stock, my Tesla holdings already accounted for 0.45% of the total market value.”

"so much?"

Musk put down his hookah and his expression turned serious.

Tesla's stock has been targeted by short sellers this year, and Chen Xiu's move to accumulate shares was indeed a good opportunity, but 0.45% is already quite a lot.

If Musk was skeptical of Chen Xiu's earlier claims about targeted financing or going long in the secondary market, he now believes that Chen Xiu will indeed do so.

Why are you optimistic about Tesla?

"To be more precise, I am optimistic about the new energy industry and China's future new energy market. On this point, I should agree with you, otherwise you wouldn't have gone there to build a factory."

Chen Xiu said earnestly that he didn't care about Musk's character; he only knew that Tesla's stock price had indeed soared after entering China.

Business is all about seizing the right opportunity and acting decisively. Now is undoubtedly the best time to buy a Tesla.

Musk looked hesitant, as if there were still some things he didn't understand.

Chen Xiu bluntly stated, "The short sellers' attacks on Tesla haven't disappeared yet. Coupled with the loans that need to be repaid and the funds needed to build the factory in China, are you going to apply for a loan? Or conduct targeted financing? Is it a difficult decision?"

Upon hearing this, Musk's expression hardened, and the smile on his lips returned to its indifferent tone.

"Both methods are essentially about finding ways to raise money. I'd like to know how much capital you've prepared for the secondary market?"

"Currently, I have about $2 million in funds at my disposal, and Goldman Sachs is willing to accept Pinduoduo's shares as collateral to provide me with a loan of $6 million."

"That means a total of $8 million."

"Based on Tesla's stock price and market capitalization, this is already in line with my expectations."

If she really needs money, Chen Xiu can also mortgage her shares in Tencent, which would be worth about 30 billion US dollars.

However, there's no need to build a factory, and Tesla wouldn't be giving up so many shares. The network of connections represented by Tencent shares far outweighs their paper value.

Musk lowered his head and pondered. $8 million was enough to solve Tesla's current cash flow needs, and he needed to consider whether he should accept this financing.

If Chen Xiu doesn't accept this, he can buy Tesla shares little by little on the secondary market. Aside from taking more time and effort, the final amount he gets will be about the same as the amount he would have received through private placement.

Then, whether he applies for a loan in the United States or goes to China to apply for a loan to build a factory, he will have to pay interest.

Thinking about it this way, it seems there's nothing difficult to choose...

Just as Musk made his decision, Chen Xiu suddenly stood up from her seat.

"what happened to you?"

"It's nothing. If you need time, you can think about it slowly. I'm planning to practice shooting, is that alright?"

Chen Xiu pointed to the firing port where Meng Ziyi was standing and said to Musk.

"shooting?"

Musk looked in the direction Chen Xiu pointed and then noticed the other people who had come with Chen Xiu.

Why did you bring so many people with you?

"For safety reasons."

"Okay! I'm quite interested in shooting sports too, how about we have a competition?"

"I already have a competition scheduled. If you want to compete, you'll need to wait in line."

After saying that, Chen Xiu walked straight toward Meng Ziyi, showing no concern whatsoever about the cooperation.

As he just said, if Musk can't accept targeted financing, he can buy on the secondary market, so there's no need to be too accommodating to him.

Approaching Meng Ziyi and waiting for her to remove her earphones, Chen Xiu asked, "How did it go? How many rings did you hit?"

"10 bullets, 72 rings!"

Wow~, that's amazing!

"Hey hey hey."

Meng Ziyi was overjoyed, thinking: There are plenty of shooting ranges like this in Northeast China. I've been going there often. Xiu-ge is good at archery, but he might not be so good at shooting...

"Hey, Xiu-ge, that person is coming over."

"Ok?"

Chen Xiu turned around and saw Musk walking over from where he had been. He glanced at Meng Ziyi and asked, "Xiu, who is this lady?"

"My girlfriend."

"Oh, hello, I'm Chen Xiu's friend."

"Hello."

Meng Ziyi's English is quite good, and he seemed very happy to hear Chen Xiu openly admit their relationship.

After exchanging greetings, Musk pointed to the firing port next door and asked, "If I fire from here, it won't bother you, will it?"

"will not."

Chen Xiu didn't understand Musk's intentions, so she went with him.

After listening to the shooting instructor's explanation of the preparatory actions, Chen Xiu put on her headphones, took the magazine changer, disengaged the safety on her Colt 1911 pistol, aimed at the target, and fired a test shot.

"Bang!"

The gun fired, and Chen Xiu's wrist jerked from the recoil, causing the ring number on the target to stay on the outer edge.

"3rd Ring, wow, is this your first time playing this?"

Musk's joking voice could be heard from next door.

Before Chen Xiu could even refute his words, Meng Ziyi stepped forward first.

"He's just not used to it yet, he'll hit the target next time! This is only a 25-meter shooting range, he usually practices archery at a 50-meter outdoor range!"

"Oh?"

Musk glanced at Meng Ziyi with surprise, then looked at Chen Xiu.

Chen Xiu shrugged, unconcerned, and said, "This is indeed my first time doing live-fire shooting. There aren't many indoor shooting ranges in China, and they all use small-caliber bullets, so there's basically no recoil."

"OK, when you're aiming, you should aim slightly lower than the center of the circle, because your hand will rise when you shoot. Try to learn to breathe."

Musk explained his gun-handling techniques to Chen Xiu, then took the pistol from the instructor and prepared to shoot.

"Bang bang bang!"

He fired three shots in a row. Except for the last one, which hit the outer circle, the other two shots hit the edge of the center, giving him a score of 9 rings.

Musk chose this location for the meeting because he is an avid shooter.

He turned to look at Chen Xiu, indicating that he could try his own method.

Having experienced the recoil of a pistol and observed Musk's shooting posture, Chen Xiu could roughly distinguish between pistol shooting and bow and arrow shooting.

Because of the wind resistance when shooting with a bow and arrow, you need to aim higher and keep your hand steady; pistols, on the other hand, have less wind resistance but greater recoil, so you need to aim lower and keep your wrist as relaxed as possible...

Having figured out the difference, Chen Xiu also imitated Musk's actions and fired three shots in a row.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Wow~"

Meng Ziyi acted as the atmosphere-setter, providing maximum emotional value, but judging from her score of hitting the bullseye with all three shots, her reaction wasn't particularly exaggerated.

After Chen Xiu took off her headphones to confirm, Musk asked, "Xiu, you've practiced shooting before, haven't you?"

"No, this is the first practice session."

Chen Xiu gave a casual reply, then turned to look at the coach to confirm that her technique was correct before continuing to shoot.

Empty the remaining 6 bullets in the magazine, each shot scored 10 points. Adding the scores from the previous four shots, the total score is 93 points!
Chen Xiu's simple demonstration drew gasps of admiration not only from Musk but also from the coaches following behind.

Putting down his gun and taking off his headphones, Chen Xiu's first action was to go to Meng Ziyi's side and take her hand.

"Now that we've finished talking, let's go somewhere else to have fun."

"Oh that's fine!"

Meng Ziyi agreed, and then, out of politeness, turned to greet Musk, who was standing next to him.

"Mr. Elon, have fun. We'll be going now."

"Huh? Are you leaving?"

Musk looked at Chen Xiu with surprise, thinking: Our cooperation hasn't even come to a conclusion yet, why are you leaving?
Chen Xiu mimicked his earlier gesture, spreading her hands: "You can take your time to think about it. If you have a result, just call me back. I'll stay in New York until next week, and then go back to China."

"There's no need for all that trouble. Let's find a more efficient way to achieve our cooperation."

"You've agreed to cooperate?"

"Don't you think it would be better to eat a cookie in one bite than to move it like ants?"

Musk was muttering something that sounded like a South African proverb or a US slang term, but Chen Xiu understood what he meant.

How do you want to cooperate?

"Perhaps we can talk about this in more detail?"

"You can send me a draft proposal first; I already have plans for this weekend."

Chen Xiu turned to look at Meng Ziyi, not forgetting their promise to go out together.

Musk nodded in agreement: "Then I won't disturb you and this lady any longer. Leave your email address, and I'll send you the proposal."

"OK."

Chen Xiu took out her phone and sent Musk her email address on the spot.

Foreigners usually discuss work via email rather than phone.

After all this was done, the two sides officially said goodbye.

Musk's expression was somewhat meaningful as he watched Chen Xiu leave.

He thought he would have the upper hand in today's negotiations, but the opposite happened; he was led around the whole time.

(End of this chapter)