Chapter 1602 The combination of Chinese and Western

   "Mubadala Investment Company, $20 billion."

   "Waterfall Investments, $10 Billion."

   "Temasek Holdings, $5 billion."

   "Rockefeller Corporation, Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Foundation and other institutions, $4 billion."

   "Stanford University Endowment, $2 billion."

   "Puppy Family Office, $1 Billion."

   "Friedrich Family Trust, $300 million."

  …

  After firmly keeping in mind each institutional LP and its corresponding fund subscription share, Xia Jingxing gently closed the "heavy" "gift list" in his hand.

  After several months of suspension and wrangling, the latest flagship hedge fund launched by Vision Capital finally closed its accounts for the first time today.

  First closing, also called first delivery.

  As the name suggests, each institution transfers the first batch of subscribed capital contributions to the fund investment account opened by Vision Capital in the bank.

   With rice in the pot, the fund managers of Vision Capital should then fight in the secondary trading markets of major countries around the world.

  With a battle-tested trading team under its banner, Xia Jingxing no longer needs to worry too much about investment details.

  His current main job is to "make more friends and build a good relationship".

  Like the latest giant hedge fund raised by Vision Capital with an amount of up to 60 billion U.S. dollars, all the capital contributions come from various "relationship households".

  For example, Mubadala and Temasek Holdings are partners that Ha King Hang needs to take care of the most at the moment.

  The two institutions have invested in Xinxin Group for two years so far. Not only have they not obtained any returns, but they have lost billions of dollars on the books.

  As a caring strategic partner, Xia Jingxing is naturally obliged to return some blood for the two organizations - make money so that he can continue to fill the big hole of Xinxin Group.

  Besides these two institutions and China Investment Group, Vision Capital’s main LPs come from the gangsters in the United States.

  There is no need to repeat the reason, what happened some time ago has already explained everything, Yankee's food is slightly better than the third brother.

  If you want to continue to hang out in the United States for a few years, you can't do without the help of these gangsters.

  Reviewed and analyzed it carefully in his mind, and after confirming that there was nothing missing, Xia Jingxing relaxed, and looked through the porthole of the plane to the blue sky and white clouds outside the window.

  Seeing that Xia Jingxing had finally finished the work at hand and started to be in a daze, Tesla's chief engineer sitting not far away, to be precise, should be the former chief engineer Peter Rawlinson got up.

  He walked up to Xia Jingxing in two steps at a time. After finding an empty seat and sitting down, he said with a somewhat cautious expression, "Dailun, I want to talk to you."

   "Okay, I just want to chat with you, a great engineer. What do you want to drink?"

   "Coffee...Forget it, let's drink tea."

  Peter Rawlinson originally wanted to drink coffee, but he suddenly remembered that the boss was Chinese and this flight was also going to China, so he changed his mind instantly.

  Xia Jingxing beckoned to Liu Xiaoduo, and after a few casual instructions, he chatted with Peter Rawlinson.

   "Actually, you don't have to be so anxious to decide to leave the job. I originally wanted to invite you to visit the factory in China first..."

   Before Xia Jingxing could finish speaking, Peter Rawlinson shook his head and interrupted: "No, Darren, no matter whether this inspection trip satisfies me or not, I will leave Tesla."

  Xia Jingxing originally wanted to ask the reason, but at this critical moment Liu Xiaoduo suddenly came over with two cups of tea and interrupted the conversation between the two.

  The two had no choice but to drink tea quietly.

   After a while, Xia Jingxing broke the calm and said slowly, "Straubel is rather stubborn, maybe there is some misunderstanding between you?"

Peter Rawlinson sighed for a long time, as if he had made some major decision, and said solemnly: "Straubel is a very nice person, he is a competent CEO, and he is also an ideal partner. The relationship between me and him There is no contradiction, just some ideas do not agree.

   To be more precise, I am no longer suitable for Tesla. "

  Xia Jingxing was a little stunned, and then asked, "Why? Didn't you regard Tesla as a dream company before?"

  Peter Rawlinson was silent for a few seconds, and said with a wry smile: "That was before, everything has changed now.

  After Tesla has created ModelS and ModelX, the next step is to launch models with more affordable prices.

  I have no intention of commenting on the right and wrong of this move, but personally, I still hope that Tesla will continue to take the high-end and performance route. "

"oh…"

  Xia Jingxing instantly understood that this guy disliked Tesla, who was becoming less and less qualified.

   But then again, can this thing be eaten as a meal? How much is a catty?

  If Tesla doesn’t sink into the market and gain more customers’ favor, it won’t be able to become a giant in the auto industry, at most it’s just a rich man’s toy.

  However, Peter Rawlinson is not useless, and some of his ideas still have merit.

   After all, a car is a thing, sometimes it needs force and brand influence to superimpose halo, otherwise how to cut leeks? Users are not allowed to pay for their dreams?

Tesla has already delivered the Roadster and Model S models at this time, and the Model X is about to be delivered. Relying on the foundation laid by these three models, Tesla has a certain reputation and brand value. Consolidate and strengthen on this basis.

But Fuxing Motor is different, not to mention in Europe and the United States, even in China, it is not well-known at all. It is purely a newcomer in the industry, and it is very necessary to launch several models to establish its own force. Make a name for yourself.

In this regard, Peter Rawlinson is good at it. He has been employed by well-known companies such as Jaguar and Lotus Sports Car. He has rich experience in the design and manufacture of high-end fuel vehicles. In addition, he led the team to build the Model S. It has been a small test in the automotive field, and the industry has received a lot of praise.

In his previous life, he joined Atieva after he left Tesla. When BAIC and Jia Accounting both withdrew their capital and ran away, this guy stood up to the pressure and fought back. Huyou came over to take the plate.

  Although the oil tycoon has a lot of money, he is not stupid. He has always been famous in the world as an ideal investor who respects technology the most. Rabbit can testify in this regard.

  Atieva, which was renamed Lucid Motors in the previous life, under the leadership of Peter Rawlinson, has a decent momentum of development. Although the delivery volume is not high, it is at least ten Hengchi cars stronger than Faraday Future.

It is a pity that this company has the same problems as Tesla in the early stage of development, that is, it has great defects in supply chain, production capacity, cost, etc. Later, it planned to run to Saudi building factory…

If Lucid Motors embraced the Chinese market like Tesla did, maybe the above-mentioned problems would have been solved early, and it would not have been stuck in a vicious circle in the future. The technical performance and indicators of the car are getting better and better, but the car just cannot be sold. There are many potential markets, for example, Chinese consumers don't even know that there is such a car.

The reason why Xia Jingxing planned to get Peter Rawlinson to China was to take advantage of this guy's talent in the field of automobile design and research, especially in the field of three electrics. The ultimate performance of the control and battery has even become so sick that it is too much...

   To some extent, Peter Rawlinson is a good engineer and a good chief technology officer, but he is by no means a good CEO, and he is too bad at doing business.

   Using the concept of building a top-level sports car to build a new energy vehicle, isn’t that going the wrong way of Boss Jia?

   This is a shortcoming, it needs to be changed! It must be changed!

  So Xia Jingxing decided to talk to this guy carefully, to pursue the ultimate technology of the three-electric system, yes, I will provide you with research and development funds and laboratories.

   But every new technology has been overcome, and it has to go out of the laboratory, put it into a new car and put it on the market, and accept the test of users.

   How can we really make the car to the extreme and launch it after it is perfect? ​​Doesn’t that leave no room for users to upgrade? Do you do business like this?

   "Peter, do you know about Fuxing cars?"

  Hearing Xia Jingxing's words, Peter Rawlinson was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and smiled, "I haven't even seen the real appearance of this car, let alone understand it."

   "Then let me give you a brief introduction. Fuxing Automobile is a subgroup of Fuxing Industrial Holdings. It owns three automobile brands: Fuxing, Baojun and Wuling.

  Baojun and Wuling are currently making efforts in the field of fuel vehicles, and they are low-end brands, so we will not discuss them for the time being.

   Let’s talk about Fuxing Automobile alone. I expect it to be high-end, intelligent, with extreme performance and driving experience that surpass all peers. "

  Every time Xia Jingxing uttered a word, Peter Rawlinson's eyes lit up. What a coincidence, isn't this the dream car he has been thinking about?

   "Daren, do you want to make Fuxing a cooler and higher-end car than Tesla?"

  Peter Rawlinson rubbed his hands excitedly, his tone was a little excited, and he had higher expectations for the next trip to China.

  But soon Xia Jingxing poured cold water on him, "No, why use Tesla as a benchmarking company? Fuxing Motor is not benchmarking against it."

  Peter Rawlinson was dumbfounded, wondering if he wanted to build high-end cars?

  Next, Xia Jingxing's words rekindled his hope, "The real target of Fuxing Automobile is Porsche and Mercedes-Benz."

   "Eh... Darren, when Tesla was first launched, I remember that it was also the target of Porsche and Mercedes-Benz..."

  Peter Rawlinson didn't finish his sentence. He still had half a sentence "You were still in touch with porcelain people at that time", so he could only complain silently in his heart.

Xia Jingxing smiled without hesitation, and then he said confidently: "Tesla is following the "Volkswagen route", while Fuxing Motor is following the "Mercedes-Benz route", I can assure you of this, absolutely Will not be shaken.

  Perhaps you may worry that I am reluctant to part with the profits in the low-end car market, but Fuxing Auto Group has more than one brand under Fuxing Auto. "

  Peter Rawlinson instantly realized that he planned to implement a multi-brand strategy!

  He thought about this matter carefully, and found that it might be a coup, which can not only ensure the purity and style of the revived car brand, but also cover all other priced car markets.

"Fuxing Industry has not been easy along the way. It took a lot of effort to use mobile phones, tablet computers and other products to leave a little bit of high-end brand awareness and impression in the hearts of European and American users. I will never do it casually and smash my own signboard. things."

  Peter Rawlinson nodded slightly, agreeing to Xia Jingxing's statement. At the same time, he also realized that it seemed much easier for Fuxing Motor to go overseas than other Chinese companies. After all, it had already made a certain reputation in the European and American world, and it was not an absolute new player.

  “Made in China has always left the impression on European and American users that the price is low. As for the quality, it is so-so, and some are even very inferior.”

   "Actually, it's okay. For example, I don't have a bad impression of products made in China. After all, you get what you pay for..." Peter Rawlinson comforted.

  Xia Jingxing smiled and waved his hands and said, "You don't have to say good things, I don't know what Chinese brands look like to foreigners?

   Fuxing mobile phone is lucky to catch up with the mobile phone industry revolution and get the ticket to the era of smart phones, so it is reluctant to be looked at by foreign users.

  And compared to cars, mobile phones are considered cheap gadgets, even if they are deceived, they will not suffer too much loss.

   But automobiles are completely different. As an industry with a century-old history and rich and diverse automobile culture, users in European and American countries have formed a deep-rooted impression that good cars must be produced locally in Europe and the United States.

  Not to mention Chinese cars, even Japanese and Korean cars that have made great achievements, are also synonymous with grocery carts and cheap goods in the eyes of European and American people.

  If China Automobile wants to reverse or even get rid of this bad impression, it must exert a lot of effort.

  Tesla can easily be recognized by the European and American markets. If the same thing is changed to Fuxing Automobile, it needs Fuxing Automobile to show far stronger technology and car manufacturing level than Tesla. "

  Seeing that Peter Rawlinson was silent, Xia Jingxing smiled and said, "Sounds difficult, doesn't it?"

  Xia Jingxing asked himself and answered: "It is really difficult! Because China was too far behind in the past! It is no longer the country with exquisite craftsmanship, rich in porcelain and silk, which attracted countless Westerners to look up to."

  Speaking of this, Xia Jingxing changed the subject: "There was no chance to catch up, but just like the smartphone revolution, the new energy vehicle revolution gave Chinese companies a ticket to the next automobile era.

   What I want to do is to live up to this ticket and build a car that is truly recognized by users all over the world.

  I know that you are a car fanatic, hoping to create a car that shocks the industry and the world.

   In this regard, we have a common topic.

  You joining Fuxing Automobile is equivalent to accepting a hard work that is ten times more difficult than the original task.

   If it didn’t work out, it’s natural to stop mentioning everything.

   But once you succeed, you will be recognized as the king of new energy vehicles.

  Think about it, you have achieved world-renowned success in a backward country known as the desert of car culture, is it more admirable than other colleagues who have achieved achievements on the shoulders of European and American car manufacturing powerhouses?

  Other people's success, everyone will naturally attribute everything to the car manufacturer and the country standing behind it.

  Only you, when Fuxing Motor really succeeds in the world, they will say: Look, that guy named Peter Rawlinson has changed the pattern of the world's auto industry. With his help, the Chinese can actually build cars. "

   "Haha, Daeron, you think so highly of me! I like the challenge, though."

  Peter Rawlinson looked at Xia Jingxing with a smile on his face, and said, "But I also want to remind you that while there are challenges, it also means a lot of investment and enough patience."

   "About this point, you can rest assured that there is an old saying in China that goes, "The emperor does not send hungry soldiers".

  How much money Tesla invests in R&D, I will invest ten times its R&D funds, and no external financing is required. "

  With a huge sum of US$32 billion just brought back from the United States in his pocket, Xia Jingxing spoke with great confidence.

The money is mainly composed of three parts, the first is the fund dividend of US$27 billion brought by the liquidation of the Vision Capital hedge fund; the second is the Android cash acquisition payment paid by Facebook, which is US$3.76 billion; the last part is It was Friedrich and his gang of cronies who paid for the equity acquisition of Vision Home. The amount was not large, only US$1.2 billion.

  Another thing that needs to be explained is that after selling 60% of the shares, Xia Jingxing still holds 20% of the shares of Vision Homeland, ranking the second largest shareholder of the company.

  The Friedrich family became the largest shareholder of the company, holding more than half of the shares.

  Peter Rawlinson laughed, "Ten times the investment is not enough, as long as it is not smaller than Tesla's investment."

  A faint smile appeared on Xia Jingxing's face. The current Tesla has only burned a few dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars, and the most difficult moment has not yet come.

However, he will not easily invest money in Tesla in the future. First, Tesla has already gone public and has rich financing channels, so he does not need to provide more blood; second, his shareholding ratio is really too high. A little higher, a little lower and lower, and the introduction of some powerful partners, it takes a while to conform to the investment principle of maximizing benefits.

   "Okay, Darren, I'm fine here, I hope to see the prototype soon."

   "Okay, wait for me to make arrangements, let's go straight to the test site to see the car after getting off the plane."

   "Great, I love this productivity."

   "Then you accepted my invitation?"

Peter Rawlinson held out his hand with a smile on his face, shook hands with Xia Jingxing, and said, "Yes, you have successfully convinced me! I thought about it, and I am afraid that you are the only one who understands new energy vehicles in the whole world, and The bosses who are willing to commit for the long term will support my deviant ideas.

  I am no longer young, but I have not left my own mark in the history of automobile development. I hope I can make a breakthrough in the last period of my career. "

   "Your ambition is not small! Then I wish you success as soon as possible! It should be said that I wish us all success as soon as possible!"

   "Haha, work together."

  …

  (end of this chapter)