From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 132 A bewildered Musk: One press conference compared to my five times?
"Mr. Lei, do you know this young man?"

"Or... did you invest in Xingchen Motors behind our backs? How could you not have revealed anything about something this big before?!"

On the other end of the phone.

The shareholder's tone was a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Such a big event in the new energy industry spread across the internet in just over an hour.

Don't let their profession as a mobile phone manufacturer fool you.

There are quite a few of them in the investment circle, especially in China's emerging technology industries, such as new energy. It's mostly veteran investors who are dividing up the market and betting against each other.

It's obvious to everyone that new energy vehicles are the next big thing.

Several emerging companies that are currently gaining momentum, such as NIO and XPeng, have received investments from Lei Jun and other major shareholders.

They even invested in upstream and downstream industry chains, such as CATL, energy, materials, chips and many other manufacturers.

Holding shares allowed them to establish connections and networks.

It will make things easier to start a second business in the future.

And then I saw the launch event for Xingchen Auto, which was a dark horse.

They were truly dumbfounded.

This style.

And this eerie yet familiar feeling!
There must be a master who taught it!
……

Lei Jun: "..."

Everyone was stunned.

"I do not have it!"

If he voted, how could he not remember?

Besides, this is a company located in a mountainous area, and its industrial chain and high-tech and new energy sectors don't have much to do with it.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Yi's voice continued to come from the video.

"Please don't laugh, we're paying tribute to our competitors..."

"Our battery safety is far ahead of the competition, by a huge margin!!"

"Our car's infotainment screen is 0.7 inches larger than a Maybach's..."

"My colleagues and executives tried to persuade me all night..."

Do you all think...this price is reasonable?

……

Lei Jun remained silent.

He fell into deep thought.

In the tone of that phrase "far ahead," he seemed to hear a hint of the charm of an old friend.

Very weird.

But that old friend doesn't seem to have ever said that line.

Could it be a self-created slogan?

This speech was almost too good!!

There is a sense of powerlessness when "core business secrets" are leaked.

As we all know, the mobile phone industry is almost at its most competitive point, and core chip technology is no longer in our own hands. Instead, our marketing tactics are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

and so.

Sometimes, when Lei Jun sees the way other industries promote themselves, it's like looking at "primitive people."

Some companies are clearly very technologically advanced, but they don't know how to leverage their strengths.

And now.

He saw something.

A genius has emerged in the world of car manufacturing!

This is true.

Talented people emerge in every generation!

……

"You mean...self-taught?!"

"I don't know, but this young man is quite talented in public speaking. Has the company gone public?"

"The main company isn't pursuing an IPO, but its subsidiary, which holds patents in the large-cell battery supply chain, has started the process of spinning off and listing it..."

"Let's make a move first, and we'll provide whatever resources and conditions you need!"

Lei Jun immediately said.

The presentation style at the press conference, along with the acupuncture experiment, showed very significant results.

Although he is not particularly optimistic about the future of lithium iron phosphate, the energy density of ternary lithium batteries is still much higher than that of lithium iron phosphate, but that doesn't stop him from taking the plunge first.

……

the other side.

Tesla's headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

Musk is working overtime at the factory to coordinate the mass production process of the Model 3 and fix bugs in the automated equipment.

to be frank.

Although the Model S is a well-known new energy sports car and has always been synonymous with Tesla internationally.

However, what he values ​​most is the Model 3.

This is a key model that will determine Tesla's shift from a "high-end niche" to a "mass market" model, with a planned annual sales volume of at least 50 units.

Otherwise, all the initial investment will not yield significant returns.

To the average person, a supercar with an exorbitant price tag and incredible performance is impressive.

However, the reality is that most supercar manufacturers internationally cannot even support themselves.

They will either be acquired or declare bankruptcy.

Only two or three companies can truly succeed.

Moreover, Musk and his former team did not create Tesla with the intention of manufacturing supercars. The all-electric supercar was just a gimmick, a way to anchor the starting point of the all-electric brand at the highest possible level.

When there is no mass production capacity, they try to attract as much investment as possible to deceive the public.

but.

The California factory has recently encountered too many mass production challenges.

Firstly, there are frequent problems with the supply chain, and the efficiency of factory equipment, engineers, and workers is also problematic.

Damn it! !
They earn high salaries, but show absolutely no attitude of hard work!
Musk couldn't help but recall the scene 14 years ago when he went to China to deliver Models.

then.

He and his team also took the opportunity to inspect the situation of China's car manufacturing plant and supply chain factories.

The result shocked him!
China's automotive industry may not be the most advanced in the world, but it excels in the comprehensiveness of its upstream and downstream industrial chains. Most importantly—

The workers and engineers there have such a meticulous work ethic! It's truly admirable!!
Not only do they really enjoy voluntarily working overtime, but they are also very obedient.

Labor costs and land prices are also incredibly low.

It's practically a paradise for large-scale manufacturing!
So from that year onwards, he had a nascent idea in his mind: if Tesla wanted to achieve high sales volume, it would definitely need a larger global factory.

A car market with sufficiently low labor costs, a large enough market size, and a comprehensive enough industrial chain.

After filtering, the land of China became the only choice.

Today, his team has contacted the Chinese government and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology several times to negotiate the issue of "establishing a local production base in China".

Their China representative has already calculated the relevant economic data and market research.

If the factory is located in China, then at least several hundred thousand pure electric vehicles can be sold every year.

As for China's domestic new energy companies...

He didn't take it to heart.

Laughed——

Their understanding of the three core technologies (battery, motor, and electronic control) and the integration of pure electric architecture, as well as their understanding of new energy vehicles, is at least four to five years behind.

It's foreseeable that they'll be crushed upon landing!
"Elon, the information on China's new energy vehicle market that we've compiled recently is all done. Several new players have announced that they will achieve mass production as early as the end of next year, and another noteworthy new car company has emerged..."

at this time.

His personal assistant walked in.

Musk immediately stopped what he was doing.

Disdain is disdain.

Since he considers China to be Tesla's next home base, he is very concerned about the upstream and downstream industries of new energy there.

This involves the subsequent production layout of the Huaxia factory.

Musk took the briefing.

The most eye-catching company recently is undoubtedly NIO, which just held a large-scale launch event and unveiled its all-electric supercar, the EP9.

Their fame has even gained international exposure.

But as the first person to replace the wiring, he could only shake his head after seeing it.

This is a route that is destined to be difficult and has a low short-term return.

Whether it's feasible or not is another matter.

Making a high profit from replacing power lines is a very difficult thing. The cost is too high, and the infrastructure requirements are too limited. At least it is not feasible internationally.

Subsequently.

Then he saw the name "Star Auto".

"The three core technologies and battery pack technology recently disclosed by this car company are worth paying attention to. The video has already been sent to me."

The assistant reminded him.

Musk immediately opened the computer window.

then.

The whole person was stunned.

"Hiss... Dual-gun charging? Multi-point battery puncture test."

I saw this car company's press conference presentation.

Musk was slightly surprised.

Judging from these two technology demonstrations alone, this car company has at least broken through his "stereotype" of Chinese car companies.

The technological gap in the three major components (electric system, motor, and electronic control system) that was four or five years ago has been narrowed to about three years!

"This Chinese company called Xingchen Automotive, at a press conference yesterday, repeatedly compared itself to us, and under the guise of paying tribute, also piggybacked on the fame of other luxury car companies like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi..."

The assistant added.

Musk: "..."

He also said that our charging speed is 5kW slower than his.

"Nonsense! With our high-voltage three-electric architecture, it can handle 200kW of charging power without any problem."

"However, China's current supercharging stations only support fast charging up to 120kW."

"How did he do that?"

"He stuck two guns in there."

"..."

...

Musk's mentality is a bit broken.

There's a sense of helplessness, like being exploited by someone on another map using a bug.

To say he's engaging in false advertising isn't strictly accurate.

But they can find this kind of rhetoric to "force a comparison".

In his view, this young Chinese man was somewhat shameless.

Can't China's Advertising Law be put in place?
Oh right—Tesla is a foreign company and not protected by China's Advertising Law, so that's fine.

……

His long-standing keen business acumen made him feel a vague unease.

The pace of progress in the new energy industry over there seems to have inexplicably accelerated?

It was much faster than he had expected.

"Contact the Huaxia team and set aside three days at the end of the month for me to personally participate in face-to-face negotiations with Huaxia to secure this deal as soon as possible."

Musk immediately responded.

Currently, project negotiations in China are being handled by their China team.

There will be a major meeting at the end of the month to discuss the conditions for building the factory and the details of acquiring land. Judging from the attitude of the Chinese government, they are very welcoming of Tesla's establishment.

China has already placed strategic importance on new energy sources.

I wasn't in a hurry at first.

The related negotiations involve subsequent performance-based agreements, each of which involves the division of profits. Letting the team negotiate slowly is the best way to maximize profits.

But after watching the Star Auto launch event, he changed his mind.

It must be launched in the Chinese market as soon as possible, otherwise the first-mover advantage of this version may be shortened.

"These Chinese car manufacturers are very unruly, but once Tesla is launched, these tricks will be useless!"

Musk thought about it.

There's no need to panic. In terms of electric drive technology and overall technical strength, they are still far ahead!
……

　The next chapter will probably be around midnight; you can read it when you wake up tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)