My Age of Investment

  Chapter 174 Pitfall (seeking subscription and recommendation)

  "No～"

  Eberhard waved his hand again and again and said no, "Daren, this is not an investment, this is an acquisition of us.

  And the pre-investment valuation we requested is 22.5 million US dollars. You are not halved, you directly reduced us to 7.5 million US dollars, which is only one-third of our request. "

  Xia Jingxing smiled. He said that the valuation was halved, which means that the post-investment valuation was halved, which was reduced to 15 million US dollars. The pre-investment valuation was indeed only 7.5 million US dollars.

   "We cannot agree to this condition."

  Tapenning’s face also changed from a look of enthusiasm to a look of coldness.

  The reaction of the two of them was in Xia Jingxing's expectation.

  Although he has not read Tesla’s current financial statements, as far as the office environment he sees today, it can’t be worse.

  All of these can infer that Tesla’s current financial situation is very bad, otherwise a group of people will not shrink to work in such a poor environment.

  Moreover, Tesla's cold reception in Silicon Valley is not something difficult to inquire about. He knew it clearly before he came.

   But it’s not that Tesla just let him knead.

  Wait for a while, the man called "Iron Man" by the outside world will appear to help Tesla complete the A round of financing. He himself led the investment of 6.3 million US dollars and became Tesla's largest shareholder and chairman.

  The financial problems that Tesla faces now and the financial problems it will face in the future far exceed those of ordinary Internet startups.

  This is a project that requires investment and large investment. It is like a giant gold swallowing beast that can only get in and not get out.

  So we can't compare with ordinary equity financing cases.

For companies like Scape and LinkedIn, he invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in it and took a few shares, and the company had enough money to run it. After some achievements were made later, he continued to carry out the first Second and third rounds of financing.

  Tesla is not good!

  He has made up his mind that he must control Tesla like Iron Man and become the largest shareholder.

  You cannot simply regard this investment as a financial investment, but make the longest-term layout and make Tesla an important puzzle of your own industrial empire.

  "Have you ever wondered how much does it cost to build the first prototype car? How much does it cost to mass-produce the first car?"

  Xia Jingxing did not talk about money today, and talked about his feelings with the two.

  He looked at the two Tesla founders and said sincerely: "7.5 million US dollars is just my first investment.

  After this, as long as the company needs, I can continue to invest money in it, until you build the first prototype car and mass-produce the first car. "

  Speaking of this, Xia Jingxing looked at the two with a firm gaze, “It is not only that you think electric vehicles are a great cause that can change the world, but I and you share the same feelings.

  Tesla wants to create a business that no one has done before, and it is destined to have a hard time.

  And I, I am willing to give a promise to invest in Tesla until the company reaches a revenue balance.

  If I don’t have enough funds, I can even mortgage or sell my Facebook shares. "

  The two were finally moved when Xia Jingxing was so optimistic about the future of electric vehicles.

  Andrew stopped the small actions under the table, feeling in his heart: Hey, no help, wait to step on the pit!

  "Daren, since you are so optimistic about the future of electric vehicles, why do you give us such a low valuation?"

  Eberhard shook his head and laughed. “Together, we have invested millions of dollars in Tesla.

  You only gave a valuation of 7.5 million US dollars. Doesn’t it mean that you have completely ignored the results of our efforts over the past six months? "

  Xia Jingxing originally leaned down and looked at the two of them. Now he leaned back in his chair and sat down, spreading his hands. “The industry is currently in the cold, and the harder you work, the more you have negative equity, there are countless examples.

  You can take a look at other electric vehicle companies. What is GM's loss? All EV1 are recalled and destroyed.

  I am not totally denying your efforts and achievements in the past six months.

  But people, should not be entangled in the past, we have to look at the present and the future.

  I will inject capital for you, Tesla can obtain valuable funds, survive, and develop better and better.

  But if there is no capital injection, it is very likely to die, and it will always remain in concept, just a drawing in the computer. "

  Xia Jingxing's words can be said to be utterly utterly heartfelt, and the two founders' faces were green and white.

  This speech sounds good, but the subtext is to tell them to recognize reality.

  If you don’t compromise, it is very likely that the company will not survive. Even if you have more shares, it will always be just a piece of paper.

  This is especially true for Tesla, a start-up company.

  If you don’t have money, don’t want to become a real car that can ride on the road.

  Xia Jingxing observed his words and colors, and watched the two founders listen to his words, and continued to fight the railway while it was hot: “Facebook is now the largest social networking site, and its influence is greater than day by day.

  In the future, it is not impossible to sell Tesla on Facebook.

  Anyway, Amazon has worked very smoothly with us, and Bezos praised Blackburn, the vice president who led the cooperation with us, at the executive meeting. "

  "Dylan, can the valuation be higher. At a pre-investment valuation of $12.5 million, you invest $7.5 million to come in and occupy 37.5% of the shares."

  Eberhard’s psychological defense line has been continuously broken, and he has begun to lower his offer.

  Xia Jingxing shook his head with a resolute expression, "I am not bargaining with you. If I become a major shareholder of Tesla, the responsibility and pressure I need to shoulder are far greater than you.

  After making a prototype car, there is no money for mass production. I have to invest more.

  After mass production, because of the unsatisfactory sales, I have to maintain high R&D expenses and launch follow-up models. As a major shareholder, I have to continue to invest money.

  I don’t think of Tesla as a tool for making money! "

  Xia Jingxing shrugged, “It’s not easy for me to make money. I’ve just walked through the stock market. Why invest my money in an industry with an uncertain future.”

  Tapening scratched her bald forehead, and accidentally pulled off two more hairs.

  Looking at the broken hair in his hand, he felt terribly distressed.

  Compared with losing a little hair, he feels more distressed about giving control of the business to others.

  He stretched his face and asked, "Daren, do you have to control Tesla?"

   "It's not!"

  Xia Jingxing quickly weighed the psychological bottom line of the two in his heart, and slowly said: "I can serve as the honorary chairman, the management rights of the enterprise, and the team to develop cars. These can all be left to you."

  He looked at Eberhard, "You can continue to be the CEO and take charge of the overall situation!"

  He looked at Tarpening again, “You can continue to be the CFO and take care of the company’s money bags.”

  He pointed to himself, "And I, I am willing to be your unsung hero behind the scenes, support you, and build the best electric car in the world.

  Of course, as a major shareholder and chairman, I need to get the final decision on all matters. "

  Xia Jingxing saw the two want to talk, and said first: "I have invested so much money, and I must guarantee my rights and interests.

  If you really love this business, just build a car with peace of mind.

  Money matters, you don’t have to worry about it anymore, I will take care of it! "

  The two Tesla founders were very upset by Xia Jingxing’s words.

  On the one hand, he was unwilling to let the major shareholders of the company go to others. On the other hand, he was impressed by Xia Jingxing's plan.

  The potential of Facebook is obvious to all.

  If the young man in front of him takes Facebook to a higher position, it means that Tesla has a steady stream of financial support.

  "Daren, can you give us a guarantee, sign an agreement, promise to accumulate investment in Tesla in the next five years..."

  Eberhard squeezed his chin and thought, "How about one hundred million dollars?

  I think if 100 million U.S. dollars is enough to support us to build prototype cars, mass-produced cars, and even reach break-even. "

  Xia Jingxing smiled faintly.

  This big brother is also a pitfall. In order to get Iron Man into the water, he told the other party that it only needed 25 million US dollars to produce the car.

  As a result, by 2008, the first model Roadster was mass-produced, and it burned a total of 140 million US dollars.

  Iron Man has nothing to do with this kind of scam, because he is a major shareholder and has invested so much money, and the sunk cost is too high.

  Having all sorts of mortgage shares and loans, they spend money in this bottomless pit every year. By the end of the mass production of the first model, Iron Man has spent a total of $70 million in it.

  At that time, it happened to catch up with the second failed launch of "Falcon 1", and then the 2008 financial crisis broke out. Everyone was short of money, and Iron Man's financial situation was even worse.

At the most dangerous time, Tesla faced the test of life and death. Just a few hours before Tesla was about to go bankrupt, Musk arranged a $40 million debt transaction to save Tesla’s ill-fated bad luck. child.

  It can be said that after Musk took over the pit cargo of Tesla, he never had a good day.

  SpaceX’s small rockets will occasionally come with small surprises and romantic fireworks. People with small hearts can’t stand the excitement at all.

  It wasn't until the construction of the Big Magic Capital Factory and Tesla's output took off that Iron Man felt the care of socialism for the first time, and he even jumped up with "seagrass~seagrass~".

  Xia Jingxing thought, taking over Tesla by himself would be considered a boundless merit. Let Iron Man launch a small rocket at ease and bury it on Mars as soon as possible.

   "Darren, what do you think?"

   Seeing that Eberhard had not spoken, he thought that after hearing the astronomical figure of 100 million U.S. dollars, Eberhard retreated.

  He spread his hands, and continued: "After all, there is no reason to say that you want us to build a car with peace of mind, and we also need sufficient ammunition protection."

   "No problem, I agree!"

Xia Jingxing readily agreed.

  Andrew covered his face with his hands and sighed secretly: How can a person who is usually so smart got this disease?

  "We still need to add a default clause. If Darren, you default, that is, the investment amount has not reached 100 million US dollars within five years."

  Tapening looked at Xia Jingxing, and thought for a while and said: “You don’t want you to compensate the two of us, but you have to take out 10% of the equity and put it into Tesla’s option pool for a special incentive for major shareholders.”

   "This is a good idea!"

  Xia Jingxing stalled his hands and said with a smile: "But it is estimated that the employees will not be able to get it."

  Eberhard and Tarpening were also decisive people. Seeing that Xia Jingxing had agreed to such harsh conditions, and no longer worried or hesitated, they readily agreed to Xia Jingxing’s valuation quotation.

  Xia Jingxing glanced at Andrew, who was sitting still, "What are you doing? Hurry up and draw up an investment agreement?"

  Andrew apologized to the two Tesla founders, and dragged Xia Jingxing out of the Tesla office like a factory.

  (End of this chapter)