On March 5, Western time, the weather in California was fine. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

At 9 a.m., the sun was shining brightly over Mountain View, the sky was cloudless, and the sky was intoxicatingly blue.

At 9:40 a.m., the "Tesla 2009 Annual Investor Meeting" started on time at the multi-purpose venue of the Mountain View Computer History Museum.

The venue is very simple, and it can even be described as simple, especially the chairs, which are small and hard, and you can tell that they will not be very comfortable to sit on at a glance.

However, none of the Tesla investors sitting in the audience showed resistance and dissatisfaction with the chairs, and everyone watched intently at Elon Musk, who was about to start his speech.

Musk is still the same, wearing his 10,000-year-old standard - jeans, dark suit, plaid shirt, and no tie.

Offstage.

Bian Xuedao's name is posted on the third chair on the left hand side of the first row.

On the right side of his seat is an Asian old man with a serious expression, the two just nodded, did not communicate, but looking at the temperament, Bian Xuedao guessed that the old man was a Japanese ben, because the old man was not as strong as the Koreans, and he did not want to be so subtle as the Chinese, and the whole person revealed a "silence".

Sitting on the left hand side of Bian Xuedao is an old acquaintance Zhu Dezhen.

Today, Zhu Dezhen is wearing a black and white workplace suit, her hair is trimmed, and she looks generous and capable.

Zhu Dezhen arrived before Bian Xuedao, the two looked at each other, Zhu Dezhen stretched out his hand and said, "Meet again." ”

Bian Xuedao politely shook hands with Zhu Dezhen: "See you again." ”

Before sitting down, he glanced around and found that the two rows behind him were full of Asian faces, and Bian Xuedao had some idea in his heart: it is estimated that the Tesla employees in charge of the venue arranged the Asian management and investors in the left area.

After sitting down, a faint jasmine fragrance wafted to Bian Xuedao's nose. This fragrance is very special with a clear front taste, a gentle middle taste, and a long aftertaste.

Immediately afterward, Bian Xuedao's memory was briefly confused, and he felt that it was the first time he had smelled this fragrance, and he felt as if he had smelled it somewhere.

It's a contradiction!

It is not unusual for this contradictory feeling to appear in Bian Xuedao.

The memories of the two space-times are entangled and intertwined, and with the passage of time, some things become clear and some things become blurred, and the clear and the vague continue to blend, and then some non-subjective tampering occurs.

On the stage, the PPT began to play on the big screen in the background, and Musk began his straight to the point speech.

Musk's tone is as calm as ever, and every word and action he uses is full of strong engineer thinking and temperament, giving people the feeling that he is not trying to encourage anyone, nor is he hoping to let investors pay for it through exquisite and dazzling PPT, he is just telling it on stage, telling everyone what he is doing, what he wants to do, and what he will do.

In his speech, the objectivity of Musk's words was surprising.

Which projects have been successful and which have encountered difficulties, which new technical and marketing experts have been recruited, and which executives have left or are about to retire, which technologies can be developed within a year, and which technologies may require a three- to five-year accumulation and verification period, the company's profit and loss statement in the past year, and the amount of capital required for the next two years......

All in all, the core message of the speech is that Tesla is making progress little by little, and Tesla needs more financial support to realize its grand strategic vision.

This is also a contradiction!

The ambivalence is mainly reflected in the fact that Musk obviously needs money very much, but he also shows a posture of "those who wish to take the bait".

To put it bluntly, Musk is confident.

He is confident in Tesla's prospects and value, so he believes that someone will come up with money for him to burn for long-term gain.

From another point of view, SpaceX and Falcon 1 provide a solid foundation for Musk's self-confidence.

In 2008, the Falcon 1 was successfully launched, and then SpaceX was awarded a $1.6 billion rocket and space launch contract from NASA, agreeing to provide 12 transportation and supply missions for American astronauts.

This alone has earned Musk a huge reputation, because the only countries in the world that have mastered the technology of satellite launch and recovery are China, the United States, Russia and Elon Musk.

Therefore, with "Falcon 1" in front, Musk doesn't need to talk about it, he doesn't need to make PPT into a sci-fi blockbuster, he doesn't have to bend his eyebrows, and some people will be willing to pay him, because everyone will mumble in their hearts: "What if this guy really succeeds?"

All right......

Daimler-AG thinks the same way.

Three days before the start of the investor conference, Daimler AG and Tesla reached a strategic cooperation, Daimler AG with 50 million US dollars investment and corresponding technical support to obtain 10% of Tesla's equity, the specific cooperation agreement will be signed in mid to late May 2009, the cooperation bulletin will also be issued in May.

This is an intriguing strategic partnership.

More than half a year ago, at Musk's most difficult moment, Youdao Group's $50 million investment obtained a 4% stake in Tesla.

Now, Daimler AG has acquired a 10% stake in Tesla with an investment of $50 million and corresponding technical support, in other words, "technical support" is equivalent to a 6% stake in Tesla, which is equivalent to a value of about $75 million.

Is this possible?

No way!

First, it is impossible for Daimler AG to come up with core black technology to "the most threatening opponent in the future".

Second, Daimler AG's new energy vehicle research should lag behind Tesla as a whole, and even if the public information is reserved, it is at the same level at most, so it is difficult to imagine that Daimler AG will have a new technology worth $75 million in its hands.

Third, even if Daimler AG really has $75 million worth of technology in its hands and is willing to give it to Tesla, it is a big question whether Musk will recognize it or not. You must know that for a technology maniac like Musk who pursues perfection, it is difficult for the "technology taken" to be perfectly integrated into Tesla products like "self-developed technology".

It is also very important that "self-developed technologies" can be protected by patents.

Even if Tesla's patented technology is "shared" for free for some reason in the future, in the long run, a complete technical system and patent chain will be of great help to the development of the company.

So......

Hearing the news of the cooperation between Tesla and Daimler AG, Bian Xuedao only took a few breaths to figure out the key - the so-called "technical support" is just a cover-up rhetoric, which is basically that Daimler AG used 50 million US dollars in exchange for 10% of Tesla's equity, and the reason why the word "technical support" was added was to avoid lowering Tesla's overall valuation, and at the same time to avoid Bian Xuedao, the main investor, from being unhappy.

As for Bian Xuedao, he was really not very happy after hearing the news, but after calmly empathizing, he gradually understood Musk's thoughts and began to understand and even admire Musk.

In business, thinking from Musk's point of view, there is nothing wrong with him doing this.

Not only is there nothing wrong with this, but this cooperation between Tesla and Daimler AG can even be seen as a perfect manifestation of Musk's business talent.

The so-called "perfect" is because Musk's cooperation makes the sense of profit and the means of cooperation and indulgence are amazing.

What is a Tesla car?

It is a "disruptor" in the world automobile market, and may even become a "disruptor". Compared with automakers, countries, organizations and individuals in the oil interest chain will be more wary and even hostile to Tesla.

Therefore, Tesla, which seems to be in the limelight, is actually an "isolated person".

In the bright and dark places, there are countless pairs of eyes staring at Tesla, just waiting for it to have an accident and make a mistake, and then choose the opportunity to throw stones and stab the knife.

Let's talk about Daimler AG.

Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz Cars, is one of the most successful premium car brands in the world.

In cooperation with Daimler AG, Tesla not only obtained the much-needed funds of the company to divide the alliance of traditional automakers, but also used the benefit sharing of "I have you" to turn a competitor into a partner, which can avoid the frontal sniping of Mercedes-Benz in the market to a certain extent.

Of course, it is too early to talk about market encounters in 2009, and it is unrealistic to want to tie up such a "market enemy" as Daimler AG with shares, after all, you can get divorced if you get married, let alone hold some shares in your family.

In any case, the cooperation between the two companies has won space for Tesla to survive and develop.

As long as the technology develops, as long as the power, charging and after-sales problems are solved one by one, with the advantages of new energy vehicles, even in the face of the joint strangulation of traditional car manufacturers, Tesla is confident to fight.

Faith comes from history.

In the history of mankind, the duel between new technology and old technology, no matter how tortuous the process, mostly ended in the victory of new technology.

Meantime......

The cooperation between Tesla and Daimler AG also verified a "rule of the game" - when the development of the enterprise reaches a certain stage, it is not that anyone will ask for money, but that the investors who are most helpful to the development of the enterprise will be selected as partners.

This incident shows how wise Bian Xuedao's decision to invest in Tesla and SpaceX more than half a year ago was, because even if he hesitated a little at that time, he might have missed the opportunity to become a shareholder of SpaceX forever.

In the multipurpose venue of the Computer History Museum.

Musk on the stage was still explaining, but he was sitting in the first row and slipped away.

It's not because he doesn't care about what is said on stage, but because Tesla's current stage of development doesn't allow him to be interested.

There's no way, Bian Xuedao's vision is too high now, and if he wants to make him interested, it is estimated that Tesla will be about the same in 4 years.

Before you know it, the meeting is over.

Bian Xuedao was just about to get up from the chair, and Zhu Dezhen, who was sitting next to him, turned his head and asked, "Do you have any arrangements for the next time?"

Looking at Zhu Dezhen, Bian Xuedao thought for a while and said, "There is no arrangement." ”

Zhu Dezhen listened and said dryly: "Then let's have a meal together, I'll please!"

……

……

Mountain View is so small that you can't see the tall buildings at all.

A street called Castro-Street runs through the city, and is the main and most prosperous neighborhood in the city, with more than 70% of the city's restaurants and commercial facilities on both sides of the street.

Coming out of the Computer History Museum, Zhu Dezhen led Bian Xuedao to a pizzeria called Zibbo.

The two picked a table by the window and sat down, and Zhu Dezhen asked Bian Xue, "You order me?"

Bian Xuedao glanced left and right, and said casually: "You order, as long as you don't put mustard, I can eat it." ”

Zhu Dezhen took the menu brought by the waiter, and said with a smile: "You really don't pick!"

Three minutes later, handing the menu back to the waiter, Zhu Dezhen leaned back in his chair and said, "This restaurant is famous for its wood-fired pizza and spiced prawns, you can try it." ”

Bian Xuedao nodded and continued to look at the layout of the store.

While the two were waiting for the meal, six or seven tables of diners came to the restaurant one after another, and the surroundings became lively.

Seeing that Bian Xuedao didn't speak, Zhu Dezhen asked, "What are you thinking?"

Bian Xuedao picked up the water cup and said: "I was thinking, there are many large enterprises in Silicon Valley, and the salary is high, in other words, most of the consumers here are rich, so if you open a restaurant here, it should be a good choice." ”

After Bian Xuedao finished speaking, Zhu Dezhen looked at Bian Xuedao with strange eyes, and after a long time, she said: "Your business sense of flux is really confusing. ”

Bian Xuedao didn't get angry when he heard it, and said with a smile: "I want to hear it in detail." ”

……

……

(ps: This chapter was written at 1 o'clock in the morning last night.,But when I checked it, I found two data errors and a suspected common sense error.,It was too late.,I worked in the unit for a day.,And I stayed up in the middle of the night.,The whole person's brain is dizzy.,There's no way to modify it at all.,So I pressed it until today to revise it and send it again.。 The child at home has just been a few months, and I also want to earn money for milk powder for my child, and I also know that I can earn a chapter of money by publishing one more chapter, but I think the author has to be worthy of the money spent by genuine readers, and he has to be worthy of his own heart. Of course, there must be bugs in the books of the laity, but I really tried my best, and I really didn't subjectively want to fool everyone to fool the chapters and cheat money. Also, if there are no surprises, there is another chapter today. ）