New York 2006

Chapter 202 SpaceX and Tesla
August 2008, 8, Friday at 8 pm Eastern Time.Today is Luo Ji's birthday, and his family held a birthday party for him.

Luo Ji was standing in the study room of his home in New York, holding a phone and talking to Yao Ming on the other side of China.

"Logic, aren't you coming to China to watch the Olympics?"

Luo Ji said apologetically: "I'm really sorry, but I won't go. After all, I originally planned to go with Taylor, but now, you know."

Yao Ming smiled and said, "Do you know what you and Taylor are called now in China?"

"what?"

"North America is in trouble."

Luo Ji: "..."

Yao Ming continued: "Jerk, hahaha. You can do it. I never noticed before that you are still a playboy."

Luo Ji: "..."

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. It's okay if you don't come. Let's get together again in the United States."

"OK."

"By the way, happy birthday."

"Thank you."

"Then I'll hang up. You should be very busy today."

beep.

After hanging up the phone, Luo Ji looked at the birthday blessing messages on his phone. Surprisingly, Britney, whom he hadn't contacted for a long time, also sent a blessing.

Luo Ji thought for a while and responded like everyone else, saying thank you and then went downstairs to entertain today's guests.As today's protagonist, it is not good for him to disappear prematurely.

As soon as Luo Ji appeared at the venue, Lady Gaga walked up to him, held his arm, and said softly: "Feili, what did you do just now?"

"A phone call was answered."

Luo Ji glanced around and found that Christine and Max were casting resentful glances at him.Not far away, Robin, who was chatting with Lily, Tracy, Ted, and Barney, also stared at him blankly.

Lady Gaga pulled Luo Ji and asked, "Can you take me to meet today's guests?"

"of course can."

Luo Ji couldn't really refuse her, after all, she was now his girlfriend in the media.

Although she has received a lot of media exposure before, her record sales have also increased somewhat.But she also withstood attacks from Luo Ji, Taylor, and former Luotai CP fans.

Now she has a very bad reputation in the media. She is a slut and a mistress.

Fortunately, her image in the media is that of a "bad woman", and public opinion has not had such a big impact on her character.

Luo Ji took Lady Gaga to meet many people, such as Ms. Clinton’s daughter Chelsea Clinton, the CEOs of several other Luo Ji companies, and some New York politicians.There are also some singers from the New York recording industry, such as Rihanna, Tracy, etc.

"Come on, Gaga, let me introduce you. This is Dr. Xu, the CEO of my agency."

Of course Lady Gaga had heard of him, and she immediately shook hands with Xu Youyu and said hello in a good manner.After the news broke that Luo Ji made an insane amount of [-] million US dollars, Xu Youyu is now a big shot on Wall Street.

Luo Ji then introduced her to the Chinese woman next to her. She was in her 30s, dressed very smartly, and looked like a business elite.

"This is Erin Li, a Ph.D. graduate from MIT. She previously worked at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and was hired by me. Now she is the general manager of the venture capital department of my investment company."

Lady Gaga immediately greeted Erin Lee with a smile: "Hello."

"Hello." Erin Li curled her lips and responded reluctantly.

Her attitude also represents to a large extent the attitude of the Chinese-American community in the United States. As Chinese-Americans with relatively conservative values, they dislike watching such a "bad woman" hook up with the 18-year-old Luo Ji.

After Eileen Li said hello to Gaga, she ignored her and started chatting with Luo Ji. Lady Gaga asked for trouble and could only stand aside and listen.

"Logic, this is my plan. Silicon Valley is where global innovative companies are concentrated, and it is also the most active place for entrepreneurship in the world, so I want to move the venture capital department to Silicon Valley to better inspect companies."

Luo Ji said, "Yes, I completely agree. The entrepreneurial atmosphere in New York is indeed not as good as that of Silicon Valley. It is more traditional and old-school. It pays attention to style and many people have it. It doesn't have the same momentum as Silicon Valley."

"Okay, I'll start working on it tomorrow."

"Okay, then you have to hurry up. There should be a project to discuss soon."

Erin Lee said doubtfully: "Do you have a project?"

Luo Ji looked at Lady Gaga and said to her, "You go talk to Jeff Busker and the others first, and I'll go find you later."

Lady Gaga was a little reluctant, but she also knew that the two of them wanted to talk about something relatively confidential, so she turned around and left.

After Lady Gaga left, Luo Ji raised his chin and motioned for Eileen Lee to look at Elon Musk, who was sitting not far away drinking.

Around him sat Bill Lee and Sarah Gore, and an unknown woman beside him.

"Musk?" Erin Lee asked in confusion.

"Ah."

Xu Youyu quit: "Logic, are you serious?"

Eileen Lee also added: "His SpaceX failed to launch just a few days ago and the rocket exploded! His Tesla Roadster was supposed to be delivered to customers early this year, but now there is no movement at all, let alone He also raised the price of his electric sports car midway. Now the whole Silicon Valley says he is going bankrupt, are you planning to take over for him?"

Xu Youyu knew Luo Ji's bad temper and continued to persuade: "Don't you watch the media? Now the media calls him a liar, and everyone knows it. What do you think? Don't be deceived by him."

Luo Ji said, "His two companies are still valuable. If his wife hadn't exposed the news, his media image wouldn't be so miserable."

Musk, like many American celebrities, was cheated by his wife.

As an entrepreneur, even if his business is not doing well, the news will not be known to the whole country.

Perhaps it was because their marriage had long been in trouble. After his wife saw Musk’s career begin to decline, she directly began to break the news in the media.

He said that Musk was extremely controlling and used in vitro fertilization to treat her as a fertility machine to conceive three children at once. He did not respect her and treated her like a vase wife. He only asked her to be the perfect hostess. He did not respect her inner nature at all. .

After this wave of revelations, media interest was aroused, and everyone began to dig up dirt on him.

It turned out that Musk did not leave PayPal at all, but was expelled by the board of directors.

Now Musk's aura of "Silicon Valley Iron Man" has completely disappeared, and investors have begun to distrust him.

Coupled with the failure of SpaceX to launch the rocket and Tesla's delay in the delivery of electric sports cars, Musk's reputation in the media is now particularly bad.Some media even said that he wasted money on investors and his own money.

Luo Ji couldn't understand what was going on with these celebrity couples in the United States. Can't they just get together and get away?

After the divorce, many of these celebrity couples have become enemies, exposing each other's scandals in the media.Like Brad Pitt and Aniston, Jude Law and his wife Sadie, Musk and his wife Justin Musk.

However, this perception is most likely caused by the survivor effect. After all, the media is not interested in reporting on couples who get together and break up easily. Only the divorce battles will attract the public's attention and make a fuss.

CNBC even has a variety show, "The Divorce War," which tells the story of couples fighting over their divorce. The ratings are quite high, and people in the United States still love to watch this.Musk’s wife also appeared on this show and blasted Musk.

Erin Li asked, "What's going on? Why did he come to you for financing?" Luo Ji said, "We've known each other before, and I invested in his SolarCity company."

"SolarCity?" Erin Lee asked.

Luo Ji smiled and said, "It seems that your homework preparation is a little inadequate. You haven't studied my investment strategy. SolarCity is a home solar installation company. Small businesses have little technological content, so it is normal for you not to know."

Erin Li explained with a smile: "Didn't I just resign directly after receiving your high-paying invitation? I haven't had time to study it yet."

Xu Youyu said solemnly: "Logic. Are you really planning to invest in his company? You have to think carefully."

"Let's get in touch first."

Xu Youyu knew Luo Ji's bad temper, so he could only say helplessly: "Okay then."

"Eileen, Dr. Xu, let's go, I'll take you to meet Musk and the others."

Luo Ji led them towards where Musk and others were. Everyone along the way wanted to talk to Luo Ji.However, he waved his hand to indicate that something was wrong, and these people immediately resigned in a sensible manner.

When he walked up to Musk, the 187cm-tall white man stood up with a smile on his face and took the initiative to step forward and shake hands with Luo Ji.He affectionately pulled Luo Ji next to him and sat down, as if they were familiar with each other.

"Hi, Logic, let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend Dalulah Riley. She is a British actress who once filmed the movie "Pride and Prejudice."

Dalula Riley immediately shook hands with Luo Ji. The actress was pretty good-looking and had a good figure, but her chin was too pointed and she wasn't Luo Ji's type.

"Hello, Logic."

"Dalula, which version of Pride and Prejudice did you film?"

"2005 years."

Luo Ji has never seen this movie, but he knows the relevant situation.

"Pride and Prejudice" is a world-famous novel that will be remade every few years, so competition for actresses is fierce.Basically, those who can star in this movie are relatively capable actors.

Unexpectedly, Musk's new girlfriend was also selected, and Luo Ji couldn't help but take a high look at her.

Musk smiled and said: "Logic, if your film company has a project, you can consider Dalula. She is very good."

"Of course." Luo Ji said casually.

Bill Lee and his wife Sarah Gore came up and hugged Luo Ji: "Hi, Logic. Happy birthday."

"Thank you. Come, let me introduce you to these two people from my investment company, Dr. Xu and Irene Li."

After they got to know each other, Musk said sorry to them and took Luo Ji aside.

He said directly: "Logic, today is your birthday. I shouldn't talk about work matters. But you also know the purpose of my coming here. Are you interested in investing in SpaceX or Tesla?"

"Of course I'm interested. I told you last year."

Musk said solemnly: "Then when do you plan to discuss financing."

Luo Ji said casually: "It won't work at this time. You should have heard from Bill that my Holi game company is currently undergoing Series B financing. I will contact you after I finish this matter. Do you think it's okay?"

Musk said bluntly: "Do you really want to invest, or are you just perfunctory with me? I know what the media says about me now. Loig, you are a smart person, and it is normal to have your own concerns. But I hope you can give me a sincere answer." . If you are not willing to invest, I will look for other investors."

Luo Ji did not answer directly, but asked directly: "Why are you so anxious?"

"I can tell you, but I hope you can keep it a secret if the cooperation doesn't work out."

Luo Ji looked at him seriously: "You can trust me!"

"Let me talk about SpaceX first. You should have heard of my dream, which is to retire on Mars. Put aside these idealisms and just talk about it from the commercial field. My goal is to reduce the launch cost of rockets and achieve the success of some countries. Commercial release contracts, and some orders from NASA. Our competitors are Boeing and Lockheed Martin."

"The aerospace industry may not be considered high-end, but it is actually no different from starting an Internet company. Through rapid iteration, we can find the problem. Through integrated production, we can reduce costs as much as possible. Companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin have taken advantage of the public's interest in the aerospace industry. Without understanding the technology and wantonly grabbing profits, the launch cost is not as high as they say. In fact, launching a rocket may be simpler than building a new energy vehicle."

"SpaceX has launched three times, and our rockets are more successful each time. Don't look like I have failed, but the company's technology accumulation is increasing, and it is impossible to make the same mistake three times. The next rocket launch will definitely be successful. I Have this confidence.”

"But now SpaceX doesn't have much money, and it must raise funds. You should also know that I invested [-] million yuan in SpaceX. If I can't raise funds, I will not give up. I will use my remaining funds. Get into it.”

Luo Ji nodded to show that he was listening.

Musk continued: "You should be aware of Tesla's situation. After all, the three electric sports cars you ordered are not yet available, and the price was raised midway. I'm really sorry."

"But it's still the same. The company has accumulated technology. There is no company in the world that may have stronger technology accumulation in electric vehicles than Tesla."

Luo Ji looked at Musk and said, "How did I hear that BYD in China has built new energy vehicles?"

"Well... our two are almost the same. But we are the only two in the world. Those traditional automobile giants will definitely not transform if they do not feel the threat of new energy vehicles. I know you have been interested in new energy for a long time. Interested, the problem now is that I have the skills, but I will soon have no money to burn.”

Luo Ji asked, "How many shares of these two companies do you plan to sell for financing?"

"Both companies are 10%."

As for SpaceX, Luo Ji is indeed interested in the future described by Musk, but he doesn't necessarily want to get it.

But Tesla is different. Global warming is a real problem. His intuition tells him that it is true. Governments around the world have also begun to promote new energy policies.

As one of the world's leading electric vehicle companies with advanced technology, Luo Ji started to covet Tesla last year.Now that you have the opportunity, of course you must seize it.but……

Musk couldn't help but feel a little uneasy when he saw Luo Ji's thoughtful expression.

The media's current evaluation of Musk really affects investors' perceptions.Moreover, the past performance of these two companies really makes people feel very bad. If you invest in his two companies now, you must be prepared to lose all your money.

"What do you think, Logic?"

"I am interested in investing! However, on-site inspections are still needed."

"Of course."

Luo Ji pointed at Eileen Li who was not far away: "Just her, I will ask her to visit two of your companies in the next two days. She is the investment manager of my company's risk department."

…………

Luo Ji stood on the stairs of the second floor, looking at the party crowd below with Eileen Li.They gathered together in twos and threes to socialize and chat.

Erin Lee took a sip of wine: "Are you sure you want to invest in his two companies? Logic."

"Ah."

Erin Li looked at Luo Ji helplessly: "These two companies are very likely to go bankrupt! You wouldn't know it if you weren't in Silicon Valley. Even the employees of these two companies are talking about when their companies will go bankrupt."

"I don't want to repeat a sentence twice, Erin!"

Luo Ji then said in a commanding tone: "During this period, in the name of investment inspection, you will help me thoroughly inquire about the finances and shareholders of these two companies. Do you understand?"

Erin Li was calmed down by the suddenly serious Luo Ji: "Okay, okay."

“Especially Tesla!”

Luo Ji took a sip of the brandy in his glass and looked out at the night sky through the glass. Youyou said, "I hope you can make an assessment of everything about Tesla. If possible, I want to completely acquire this company." company!"

(End of this chapter)