Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 444 Musk's New Project: Seeking Investment!

No. 7, Hengshanfang, Shanghai.

Two people tentatively entered the alleyway, illuminated by the dim light of the streetlights, followed by several bodyguards.

Having confirmed the address and location were correct, Musk, who had just attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Tesla's Gigafactory in Lingang that morning and was now starving, was the first to enter a courtyard shaded by greenery.

As he stepped onto the stairs, he turned to his girlfriend who had followed him and reminded her, "Grimms, watch your step."

"OK, I understand."

Grimes, a Canadian rock singer with red hair peeking out from under her hat, still couldn't hide her doubt as she stepped onto the stairs.

Musk rang the doorbell, and when someone came to open the door, Grimes finally voiced his doubts.

"Elon, now you can tell me who you came to meet tonight, right?"

"Yes, we need to meet someone special."

"Your friend?"

"No, just a business partner."

The moment Musk shook his head in denial, the wooden door in front of him opened inwards.

The waiter was taken aback when he saw a group of foreigners standing outside the door before he went to confirm their presence in broken English.

"Hello, are you Mr. Musk?"

"Yes! Has the person I invited arrived?"

"He's already upstairs, please come with me."

"OK, thanks."

Musk stepped through the door, finding the restaurant located in a residential building quite novel.

Just as he was walking up the stairs with his girlfriend, the waiter suddenly stopped to explain that the bodyguard needed to stay downstairs.

Musk glanced at the lights on upstairs, turned and gave a brief instruction to his bodyguard before leading Grimes upstairs.

When they arrived on the second floor, they were greeted by a rectangular brown wooden table with several brass candlesticks on it. The dim candlelight gave the room an antique feel and added a touch of age to the oil paintings on the walls.

"Good evening, Elon!"

A greeting came from behind the sofa, and Musk looked in the direction of the sound to see Chen Xiu walking over from behind the sofa.

"good evening."

Musk reached out and shook hands with Chen Xiu, then turned to Grimes with a smile and introduced her: "She's my girlfriend, Grimes, a very talented rock singer. You may have heard of her."

"Nice to meet you."

Chen Xiu shook hands with Grimes again, then called out to someone behind her, "Sister Meng, come here for a moment."

"oh oh."

Upon hearing that there was a fourth person in the private room, a hint of surprise flashed across Musk and Grimes' faces.

Meng Ziyi walked over with a smile, and without any stage fright, took Chen Xiu's arm, her beautiful eyes darting back and forth between Musk and Grimes.

“This is my girlfriend, Meng Ziyi, Elon. You met her when you were in New York.”

"Oh, right, I remember now."

Whether Musk was just being polite or genuinely remembered, it's unclear.

In short, the polite greetings among the four people were successfully completed through mutual introductions.

After taking their seats at the dining table, we found that the menu for tonight was a pre-ordered set meal, featuring both Western and Chinese dishes, which helped avoid any clashes in dietary habits among the attendees.

From the first dish to the last, Chen Xiu and Musk only chatted casually and did not discuss any serious matters.

Musk also specifically mentioned his visit to the Lingang factory this morning, and emphasized that once the factory starts production, Tesla's long-standing production capacity problem will be completely solved.

"Then I'll congratulate you in advance."

Chen Xiu raised her glass in celebration, and Musk followed suit, clinking glasses with her.

Just as the two put down their glasses, Musk suddenly changed the subject and said, "Show, there's something I need to tell you beforehand."

"Please say."

"Okay, let's talk on the balcony. Let's leave this place to the lady."

"That's it."

Chen Xiu hesitated for a moment, then looked at Meng Ziyi and asked for her opinion.

Meng Ziyi, whose English was fairly good, understood Musk's meaning immediately and said to Chen Xiu, "I'm fine, you go ahead."

"OK, I'm going now, you guys chat."

Chen Xiu smiled politely at Grimes, got up from her seat, and followed Musk to the balcony to get some fresh air.

After they went out and closed the door, Meng Ziyi immediately went to look Grimes up and down.

After being stared at by her big eyes for a while, Grimes said somewhat awkwardly, "Excuse me, is there something on my face?"

"No, no, I just think you're very good-looking."

"Uh, thank you."

Grimes seemed a little surprised by the compliment, but still politely replied, "You're beautiful too."

"Of course, I'm good-looking too."

Meng Ziyi replied with a smile, always readily accepting compliments. Seeing Grimes's stunned expression, and not wanting to awkwardly stare at him, Meng Ziyi took the initiative to start a new topic.

"Did you know? I'm actually an actor, and I've acted in many TV series, several of which have been broadcast overseas. I don't know if you've seen them."

"No……"

"Oh, so what do you do?"

"I am a singer, a rock singer."

At this point, Grimes suddenly noticed that Meng Ziyi's gaze towards her seemed even more excited.

Meng Ziyi has always been confident in her singing talent, and now that she has met a professional singer, how could she not have a good chat with him?

"I actually sing very well too. What songs did you sing? Could you teach me?"

"Uh... well."

Grimes said something that she would regret for the next half hour.

On the other balcony, Chen Xiu also heard a message from Musk.

"...I plan to fire at least 7% of my staff after I return to America!"

Why does he still love to fire people so much?

Chen Xiu said noncommittally, "Large-scale layoffs, no matter how you explain it, are bad news for the company's stock price."

"So, I'm telling you in advance, I hope you won't be surprised by the upcoming stock price fluctuations."

Musk said dismissively, as if firing so many employees didn't bother him at all.

Chen Xiu glanced at him, and although she already knew the answer, she still asked again.

"Have you reported this decision to the board of directors?"

"No! However, the idea of ​​layoffs actually started last year when I was living at the factory. Many employees are not really necessary..."

Musk carefully selected his words, his eyes gleaming with a confidence that stemmed from obsession.

He is like the manager of a pride, automatically weeding out useless members to make the team's hunting more efficient.

Musk gazed eastward and murmured, "Today's visit to the Lingang factory has made me even more certain that we should do this. As long as the construction progresses smoothly, a new batch of Teslas will be born from the factory this time next year. We need a more efficient management model."

"You are the CEO; you make the decisions and you are responsible."

Chen Xiu waved her hand, indicating that the topic was over.

Anyway, it's Musk who gets criticized for the layoffs, while he's unaffected and doesn't care what happens.

"As for the stock price fluctuations you mentioned, I don't really care about short-term ups and downs."

Chen Xiu checked the direction and pointed to the location of Lingang, saying, "I believe that will create a better future for Tesla. As CEO, all you need to do is realize that potential."

"It's not just Tesla!"

Musk shook his head, his eyes burning, and said, "What I'm focused on is the future, cars that don't rely on oxygen to start, reusable rockets, AI... each of these projects is just as important as Tesla."

Chen Xiu glanced at him, unsure whether to call him a madman or a dreamer.

"If you think AI is important, then you shouldn't have left OpenAI in the first place."

"That's why I came to see you today."

Musk stared at Chen Xiu with excitement and said, "I've reflected on the time I wasted on OpenAI and my fruitless withdrawal, and I've concluded that I shouldn't collaborate with others to develop AI. I should lead a team and start my own AI company."

"Wow~, so you wanted to talk to me?"

Chen Xiu deliberately looked at Musk with an exaggerated expression, already having some guesses in her mind.

Musk didn't reveal the answer immediately, but instead began a long prelude.

"The future is full of uncertainty, and very few people are able to understand the future through learning and logic. I believe you are one of them."

"Whether it's investing in Tesla or investing in OpenAI, it's a bet on the future. As a project initiator, I naturally want to find a partner with the same vision."

"Xiu, you have a fantastic project and an excellent manager in front of you. Are you willing to trust me and invest in this project as a seed investor?"

At this moment, why does he look so much like Ma Yun?

Chen Xiu muttered to herself, her mind racing as she weighed whether or not she should invest in the project.

Although Musk later founded an AI company, and it developed rapidly, that was based on the time when OpenAI shocked the world with Chat GPT, and AI projects were not short of investment.

Should I invest in a startup now? Will the company survive until the next round of funding?
Chen Xiu expressed strong doubt about this.

One-third of the money he invested in OpenAI last year has already been burned through.

The reason OpenAI remains calm is because Microsoft has extended an olive branch to it, and new funding is already on the way; otherwise, OpenAI would have collapsed before dawn.

Having thought this through, Chen Xiu already had her answer, but she didn't directly refuse.

"Elon, why don't you send me a detailed project plan first, so I can think about it?"

"Yeah, that's okay too."

Musk looked somewhat annoyed, but he knew that Chen Xiu's response was perfectly acceptable.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly showed interest and asked, "If I want to apply for a social media account on the Chinese internet to communicate with Chinese users, which platform would you recommend?"

"Hehe, are you serious about this question?"

Chen Xiu smiled, unable to think of a second answer to this question.

(End of this chapter)