New York 2006

Chapter 225 Taylor: Still so thick-skinned
A bedroom in an apartment near Broadway in New York City.

With a snap, Luo Ji patted Max's white hair with his hand, then sat up and put on his clothes.

"Max, wake up."

Max lay on the bed and said with a look of reluctance: "Feli, can you stay here with me tonight?"

Luo Ji leaned over and kissed her cheek: "I'm going home to prepare. I have to go to California tomorrow."

"Ok."

After hearing this, Max also sat up and put on his clothes.

The two of them packed up and went to the living room outside.The decoration of the apartment is pretty good. Max bought it with a loan. It has three bedrooms and one living room.

Max's friend Caroline saw the two coming out and said hello: "Hi Logic, Max."

"Ah."

Luo Ji looked at Caroline and Blake sitting on the sofa and asked, "What are you doing?"

Best friend Blake said: "Watching the news."

His eyes moved to the TV, which was Fox News.

Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, is talking on TV wearing a women's suit and gold-rimmed glasses.

"In the eyes of our adversaries, the United States is so imperfect that he is fraternizing with the terrorists who target our country. Barack is a disgrace to the United States."

Luo Ji watched the news and commented: "This stupid woman, what people want to see now is how to solve the financial crisis, not the candidates of the two parties attacking each other personally in the media."

"Yes."

Caroline and Max agreed that women in the United States don't seem to like the female vice presidential candidate very much.

In the past few days, after the second vote on the "Wall Street Rescue Act" was successful, President Bush signed the bill on an emergency basis.

However, the market did not start to rebound strongly as expected, and has continued to fall slowly in the past few days.

People's biggest worry is the current general election in the United States.Political uncertainty leaves people still doubtful about whether the financial crisis can be successfully resolved.

Politics and economics have never been separate, but are closely connected.

Luo Ji continued to read the news a few times: "Blake, let's go. There's nothing interesting about this stupid woman."

"it is good."

Max and Caroline escorted Luo Ji and the others to the door: "Be careful on the road."

"Ok."

…………

The bodyguard had parked the car and was waiting at the door. When he got to the car, Luo Ji took out his cologne and sprayed it back and forth on his body several times.

"How about it? Are there any other perfumes?"

Blake sniffed twice, smiled and gave a thumbs up: "No. By the way, Christine called you just now. I said you were busy. Do you want to call her back?"

"of course."

Luo Ji took the cell phone and dialed Christine's number.

"My dear, how have the crew been filming these two days?"

"Why are you being so unreasonable? Why don't I go to Portland to see you when I have time? Now I need to handle the affairs of various companies, and I am so busy every day."

"I forgive you, but you have been acting a bit badly these days. Why do you often lose your temper with me?"

"I know you miss me. It will be fine when you are done with this period of time."

"I love you too, honey. Bye."

Luo Ji had just finished hanging up the phone when the bodyguard driving came to a fork in the road: "Boss, where are you going?"

"Let's go to Robin first."

"Ok."

His best friend Blake looked at him with a smile on his face: "Hahaha, you are really a master of time management."

"Generally average."

Best friend Blake said with a serious face: "You have changed, you have become better, and you have finally returned to our previous ranks."

Luo Ji smiled and said, "I have never changed. I just returned to my nature. Now I choose the forest."

Blake looked at Luo Ji and patted his shoulder with a pleased expression, feeling as if he was seeing his child grow up.

…………

The next afternoon, Tesla headquarters in Palo Alto, California, southwest of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Accompanied by Erin Lee, Musk, Bill Lee, and several of the company's shareholders and engineers, Luo Ji visited the Tesla he had longed for for the first time.

Walking in from the main entrance, you are greeted by an office area full of computers similar to that of an Internet company.

Musk explained from the side: "This is our R&D area. We currently have 50 engineers and are developing the first-generation civilian consumer sedan Model S. Now the development has reached the advanced stage. It won't take long before you can probably see the first model. A prototype car.”

Luo Ji nodded and asked carefully about the most important thing: "How do you plan the daily charging solution for Model S and the cruising range?"

"When purchasing a vehicle, we will provide a special charger for Tesla, which can charge for about five hours..."

After hearing this, Luo Ji was not very satisfied: "The charging time is too long and the cruising range is too short, which will seriously affect sales. So, do you plan this model to be used in urban areas?"

"That's the plan for now."

Luo Ji could only nod helplessly: "Okay, let's go look elsewhere."

Compared with fuel vehicles, current electric vehicles still have great disadvantages.

But think about it, if Tesla can now develop new energy vehicles that are comparable to fuel vehicles, will it be his turn to invest?

Technology will always improve, Luo Ji could only comfort himself in this way.Everyone moved on, and Musk continued to introduce them one by one.

"This is our R&D assembly factory. If the R&D team wants to verify the theory on an actual car, they only need to walk a few dozen meters to come here. Compared with traditional car companies, our efficiency is much higher. And all We purchase all the accessories ourselves, which saves a lot of money.”

Luo Ji nodded with satisfaction. The layout style here was very similar to SpaceX, and it was Musk's style.

"You see, this is an engineering prototype of the Model S. Engineers can modify it at any time."

It's so ugly, it doesn't even have a car shell.

But although it is ugly, it has an industrial aesthetic.The more Luo Ji looked at it, the more he liked it. Luo Ji liked this kind of real thing more than those virtual social games.

Musk continued: "When your 5200 million yuan comes in, it will be enough to ensure that we deliver all Roadsters, including your three sports cars. With the remaining money, we can also develop the Model S."

"At that time, we can continue to pre-sell Roadster and Model S. The money returned can continue to maintain the company's normal operations."

Luo Ji asked, "If I remember correctly, Tesla's cars are all manufactured by Lotus. The cost will be very high."

Musk nodded: "There is nothing we can do about it. You should know that the automobile industry is a capital-intensive industry. A relatively mature automobile production plant requires at least [-] million to [-] billion dollars, which we cannot afford now." of."

"Ok."

Even though Luo Ji had already been prepared, after visiting, he was shocked by Tesla's current miserable condition.

If we invest 5200 million yuan now, we can barely guarantee that Tesla will not go bankrupt in the foreseeable future. It seems far away to achieve profitability, and we don’t know how much money will be invested later.

No wonder those investors have withdrawn one after another. Luo Ji feels that even if there was no financial crisis, it would be difficult for Tesla to raise funds.

But now that the matter was over, Luo Ji didn't want to say anything more, as it would put too much pressure on Musk.

He followed Musk to the Tesla conference room, where there were about 20 reporters below.They saw the two people coming in and the camera kept filming.

The reporters were very orderly and just took photos quietly without any words.

Luo Ji was familiar with this signing ceremony. He had experienced it many times.

He skillfully came to the table with Musk and sat down. Under the guidance of Erin Lee and Jamie, Luo Ji briefly read a few important terms and then signed them.

$5200 million to acquire 10% of Tesla shares.

Have appropriate board seats.

Have the same voting rights as other shareholders.

The right to prevent dilution, the right to make decisions on major matters, the right to make suggestions, etc.

The signing ceremony ended quickly. Luo Ji and Musk shook hands and smiled at the camera, allowing reporters to take photos.

A reporter from CNBC asked: "Logic, as the company's second largest shareholder, will you make reforms to the company?"

Luo Ji put his mouth close to the microphone and said with a smile: "No, the decision-making power of the company still belongs to Musk. I am very optimistic about him. He can send a rocket into space. I believe he can run Tesla well." "

A reporter from Fox asked: "Mr. Musk, what do you think about Logic's investment in Tesla?"

Musk thought for a while and said: "I very much welcome Logic to Tesla. He is a visionary investment genius. I believe that his joining will bring a better future to Tesla."

The two blew each other's rainbow farts in front of reporters, and the scene was harmonious and enjoyable.

"Mr. Musk, but you said in the media some time ago that even if you die, you will not let Logic join Tesla's board of directors. How do you say such a thing now?"

Musk looked unhappy and said impatiently: "I was joking in the media. Next one."

The reporter from NBC asked directly: "Logic, some time ago you said in the media that Musk was a psychopath. Why did you invest in Tesla now?"

Luo Ji said seriously: "I didn't. Don't talk nonsense. I have always had a good relationship with him."

After he said it himself, he felt it was funny and burst out laughing "I couldn't help it".

Hahahaha, the reporters in the field also laughed.

"Cough cough."

Luo Ji smiled and continued: "Musk and I have a very good relationship and have always cooperated. It was just a misunderstanding before, and we have always been friends."

…………

In Nashville, Tennessee, Taylor and her music video photography team had just finished shooting the music video for the day.

A group of people gathered at a nearby restaurant and chatted while eating.

The director of the MV said: "Taylor, has Logic written a MV script for you for "A Thousand Years" or other songs?"

"No." Taylor said unhappily.

The director of the MV continued: "That's a pity, haven't you noticed? Five of the top ten most viewed videos on YouTube are related to him. The recent MV for "Bad Romance" in Lady Gaga's album is also very popular. I heard that he wrote the script for Earth Fire. But what I can’t figure out is how a grown man like him could write such an explicit script..."

The director of the MV kept talking non-stop, and Taylor secretly rolled his eyes. This person really has no expression.

Taylor was eating lunch when he suddenly felt that the conversation in the restaurant was much quieter.She followed everyone's gaze and found that everyone was staring at the TV in the restaurant.

CNBC news is playing on the TV.

"Logic and Musk have reconciled in a century. The two people who had a fierce quarrel in the media are now working together again."

"In September, Logic invested US$5200 million in China's electric vehicle company BYD. Today, he struck again, investing US$[-] million in Tesla, a new energy vehicle company in California."

"According to information received by this newspaper, Logic now controls 15% of Tesla's shares, becoming the second largest shareholder."

The news screen on the TV began to change, switching to a news interview screen, in which the reporter was asking Logic questions.

…………

Luo Ji on TV said to the camera: "I didn't. Don't talk nonsense. I have always had a very good relationship with him."

Pfft!

Taylor laughed out loud when he saw this scene and muttered in his mouth: "You are still so thick-skinned."

(End of this chapter)