My Age of Investment

  Chapter 827 The road is obstructed and long, and the line is approaching

  The new model ModelS is still holding the Pipa half-hidden, and many viewers are still unfulfilled, and their hearts are itchy.

  But Straubel has already announced the end of the press conference, and they had no choice but to applaud the new CEO to leave.

  Next, the audience began to leave the venue in an orderly manner. Under the guidance of Tesla's on-site staff, they began to go to a Tesla store not far from the hotel, where they delivered new cars.

   Musk is also not afraid of death, so he followed the army to visit.

  The delivery ceremony was very grand. The store was lit up with lights and festoons, and brand-new sports cars were neatly placed at the door, which was very eye-catching.

  Every time a customer is registered, a slender blonde or handsome muscular guy will hand over the keys, the car purchase contract, and a bunch of flowers to the male or female car owner, and then take a photo together.

  In the applause and envious eyes of the surrounding crowd, the owner of the car led away.

  At this moment, Musk noticed a freckled man talking quietly with a muscular man next to him.

  The freckled man's expression is tangled: "Ten thousand dollars more expensive, do you want this car?"

  The muscular man replied without hesitation: "It must be! Such a cool car, who doesn't like it? You see, how much do big guys envy those lucky guys who receive the car?"

  The freckled man frowned: "But after all, it’s ten thousand dollars more expensive!"

The muscular man shook his head: "For the ten thousand dollars, Tesla drew an IOU, and the rich man Darren personally vouched for it. You just saw the Model S, right? Then buy another Model S and use it. Just use up the coupon."

  Man with freckles: "Why do you buy so many cars?"

   Muscular man: "If you are really tired of driving, you sell second-hand cars. I think people are starting to buy Roadster second-hand cars at a price increase."

  The freckled man's expression was wrong: "Buy a second-hand car at a higher price?"

   The muscular man nodded his head: "Yes, Roadster has recently been discontinued, and some people have ordered too late to get the car next year. Can’t wait."

  The freckled man said with emotion: "My God, this is really crazy."

  ……

  "Hey, buddy, anyone of you want to unsubscribe Roadster? You can forward the order to me, and I will pay you an extra $1,000."

Someone next to    heard the whispers of the two, and leaned in front of them with a smile.

  Tesla sold 2,450 cars, and the latest order is scheduled for June next year.

  The first batch of 200 cars delivered, except for the 100 founder series, only had 100 regular versions.

  But the number of customers who attended the press conference and then came to the Tesla store was far more than two hundred, four to five hundred.

  Most people are not the lucky ones who are the first to pick up cars, they just come here to take a look at the existing cars to help them out.

  Now I heard that someone was about to unsubscribe, I immediately realized that this was an opportunity, and planned to come and try my luck.

  The muscular man sneered: "It only added a thousand dollars, and some people on the Internet have increased the price by five thousand dollars."

  Seeing that the routine was seen through, the person who wanted to pick up the leak shrugged and left very wisely.

  This scene was stunned by Musk, and then he realized that this stepping horse is hunger marketing! Really taught!

  The freckled man who was still tangling just now was completely relieved, and the muscular man walked straight to the desk that was lined up for registration.

   Musk also noticed that there was a long queue of people registering to pick up the car, but the desks responsible for unsubscribing on the side were unremarkable and unattended.

  Added ten thousand dollars and still so desperately to mention the car! It makes no sense!

   Musk received another ten thousand critical strikes in his heart, and felt that he still had a long way to learn.

  Continuing to watch the car for a while, Musk turned and left.

  He hasn't been bold enough to pick up the car in person, because he has to show his social security account or driver's license, so he doesn't dare to join the net.

  Today’s invitation letter was actually from a friend of his, who entrusted him to order a Tesla.

  He intends to call a friend over tomorrow to pick up the car, and then drive to Nicolas Company to dismantle it for reverse engineering research.

  As long as your Tesla is extremely vigilant, it still cannot stop my pervasiveness.

  Standing on the second floor, Xia Jingxing looked at the registration and pick-up in the lobby on the first floor with great satisfaction.

  After so many twists and turns, I finally sold the car.

   Then he started to look at the layout of the store. He just patronized to check the delivery status, but he hadn't had time to take a good look at the newly renovated store.

  This two-story store is located in the center of Silicon Valley. It covers an area of ​​about 10,000 square meters and costs a lot of rent.

  But as Tesla’s first directly-operated store, it has a great symbolic significance and assumes the role of a facade.

  Silicon Valley has gathered hundreds of thousands of high-tech practitioners, all of whom are high-income groups. In addition, they love technology products. They are all potential customers of Tesla.

  They put the first directly-operated store here, the purpose is to play the role of a window display.

   Even if you don’t buy a car, it’s good for tech practitioners to come in and take a look at the car or have a test drive when passing by, and pass on Tesla’s related information to the people around you.

Straubel ran upstairs panting and came to Xia Jingxing. He said with joy: "Dalun, today's centralized delivery is not over yet, but we probably counted that all 100 founders series can be delivered normally. , No one unsubscribes.

  Another 100 ordinary versions. Three people asked to unsubscribe, but someone immediately increased the price and took the order transferred by the three of them.

  The person who increased the price did not unsubscribe the order he was queuing up, which is equivalent to all the orders. "

  Xia Jingxing was a little surprised, "One person increased the price and took 3 orders?"

  Straubel nodded his head, "Yes, $5,000 per unit, and the price increase alone adds $15,000."

  Xia Jingxing knows about the hype of Tesla used cars on the Internet. When it was on sale last year, some people were speculating on the price of the founder series, and then it spread to the regular version.

  But the hype was before the price increase was announced today.

  Today announced a price increase of 10,000 U.S. dollars, and there are people taking second-hand cars or second-hand orders at high prices?

  Xia Jingxing expressed her doubts.

  Straubel smiled, “Many owners of Roadsters are not bad money, and the price increase of 10,000 US dollars is not a big deal, not to mention that we have made so many promises and showed enough sincerity.

  However, three people still couldn’t accept it and chose to unsubscribe.

  But there are also other powerful high-rollers who bought it. Not only did they not refund their orders, they even bought three more cars at a high price.

  Relatively speaking, Roadster's customers are not so price sensitive. "

  Xia Jingxing nodded slightly, "Then the impact of this wave of price increases should be controlled, and it did not cause too much impact."

"This should be."

  Straubel agreed, and then smiled and asked: "Then we cancel the suspension?"

  Xia Jingxing became silent. After discovering that there was a cost problem some time ago, Tesla cancelled the reservation.

  Currently, the manufacturing cost of a car is as high as 120,000 US dollars. If other costs, such as labor costs, are included, the price must be at least 150,000 US dollars to make a profit.

  Moreover, Tesla’s main job now is to develop ModelS while ensuring the normal delivery of the remaining 2,000 orders.

  If you continue to accept Roadster orders, it will inevitably increase the workload. It is necessary to continue to expand the team and further increase the cost.

  The most important thing is that launching a Roadster with a price of up to 150,000 US dollars will definitely cause market chaos. Not many people are willing to be taken advantage of, and the hype in the second-hand market will disappear.

  At the previous press conference, they also announced ModelS and said that they would lower the price, which in turn would reduce the desire of some people to buy Roadster.

After thinking about it, Xia Jingxing discovered that if he continues to increase the price of Roadster, it will do more harm than good.

  After all, the Roadster is only the first production car in name. It is partly experimental, flawed, and not perfect.

  The first real best-selling mass-produced car, you have to count on ModelS.

   "Don't let go, officially announce the news to the outside world and stop selling Roadster." Xia Jingxing shook his head and said firmly.

  Straubel’s smile stopped abruptly, “Is it really stopped? If you control the cost, set the price at 130,000 US dollars, and sell another 4,000 to 5,000, you shouldn’t lose money.”

  Xia Jingxing shook his head, “There has been a mistake in the pricing strategy, and the price cannot be increased anymore. The overdraft is the brand reputation.

  Things are rare and expensive, let the profits be given to consumers! Isn’t the used car market booming now? Let's help add another fire. "

  Straubel suddenly understood that the boss wanted to hype it up and give everyone the impression of a brand that buys it and earns it.

  At present, Tesla cannot get direct benefits from it, but in the future, it may be able to reflect the benefits in the sales of ModelS.

"I understand. I will find a few auto circle internet celebrities and let them professionally evaluate the Roadster with a cost of 120,000 US dollars. The normal price should be around 150,000 US dollars. The new car or second-hand order sells for 130,000 US dollars, 14 Ten thousand dollars is not too much, right?"

  Xia Jingxing waved her hand, "Don't go too far, just leave it naturally."

  Straubel smiled, already having a general plan in his mind.

   "Oh, by the way, Dai Lun, the auto sales model of our direct-sales stores may cause resistance from the auto dealers' association. We must be psychologically prepared accordingly."

  Straubel sighed, “In some states in the United States, the Franchise Dealer Act has been written into the special regulations of the state government. It requires automakers not to sell cars on their own, but must be sold through authorized franchised dealers.

  Our direct sales model is broken. It is not possible to enter some states even when digging into the roots of car dealers. "

  Xia Jingxing raised an eyebrow, "Do you think we should find a large dealer to cooperate?"

  Straubel gently shook his head, "That's not true. We have no retreat when we opened the first directly-operated store. Those guys won't let us off easily."

  Xia Jingxing did not speak, but thought carefully in her mind.

  In fact, Tesla is not only challenging fuel vehicles, but also the traditional dealer model. It is normal to encounter some resistance and even counterattack.

  To ruin a person’s money is tantamount to killing one’s parents.

  Tesla and the dealer Liangzi have grown up, and in the future, various auto companies will follow suit, and auto dealers can directly withdraw from the stage of history.

  "The first reason why I chose to open a direct store is to better face customers, provide a unified standard service and price system, and optimize the user system.

  Second, there is no middleman to make the difference, the car owner spends less money, and Tesla sells more money.

  Third, auto dealers have sold fuel vehicles for so long, and they have a closer relationship of interests.

   Let me give an example: most of the profits of car dealers come from after-sales service, and electric cars require much less services than gasoline vehicles.

  Electric box does not need to change oil, spark plug or fuel filter, no need to adjust or smoke check, etc.

  Less money, do you think car dealers will do their best to help us sell Tesla?

  There is another point, when people are accustomed to fuel vehicles, it is much more difficult to sell a new technology car from a new company.

   Then, inevitably, dealers will turn to fuel vehicles that are easier to sell.

  Cooperating with a dealer is equivalent to holding a knife and slowly wiping your neck. "

  Straubel feels that the boss’s analysis is very reasonable, but the direct operation model will face many objective problems.

  He said: “In addition to the resistance of some states and dealers, Tesla’s choice of direct operation is equivalent to heavy asset operations.

  In addition to facing huge capital needs, there are also multiple issues such as operational complexity and cost efficiency.

  For example, the store under our feet will temporarily fall into the predicament of no cars to sell after the sale of this batch of Roadsters.

  Even after ModelS is launched in the future, if you want to get good sales, you must set up a network of sales stores.

  Even if you don’t consider the inaccessibility issues in some states, those stores that have been opened, the huge offline team management issues, and the sales balance cost issues need to be resolved one by one. "

  Xia Jingxing felt that Straubel had a good vision, and based on a little clue, he could see so many problems.

  But Tesla’s development path is like this. It is destined to not be smooth sailing. If you want to be a disruptor, you must have the consciousness to face and bear the pressure.

Xia Jingxing said lightly: "I don't deny the existence of these problems you mentioned, but if Tesla wants to survive and get better and better, then he can only solve the problems one by one. Some things cannot be avoided. ."

  Straubel's complexion is heavy, and it is precisely because he understands the difficulty of this road that he feels that he bears a huge burden.

  He can almost foresee the difficult situation in the future, losing quarter to quarter, year to year, profit is indefinite.

  As a CEO, he needs to bear great pressure in his daily work.

  Xia Jingxing glanced at the silent Straubel, and vaguely guessed the latter's concern. This guy is quite clever, and he can almost see through Tesla's hard life in the next few years or even ten years.

  To describe in one sentence, this is a glorious road paved by thorns. To break through, courage, determination, and wisdom are indispensable.

  Even if it finally rushes through, it will be scarred.

   Thinking of this, Xia Jingxing admires Musk a little, this guy really can't beat Xiaoqiang.

Strictly speaking, although SpaceX has a high technical content and failed and exploded many times, it actually did not toss Musk too badly. After the first successful launch, it received NASA orders one after another. Get better.

  Only Tesla has pushed Musk to the brink of bankruptcy several times, and it took more than ten years to gradually live a good life.

  In contrast, "China's worst man in 2019" has only suffered once.

  "Don't have too much pressure and psychological baggage."

Xia Jingxing knew that Straubel did not have too much business experience, and his pressure-bearing capacity might be worse. He cheered for him: "Don't worry, if I support you behind your back, Tesla will not be able to break down. Even if it overwhelms me. The shares of Facebook will also send Tesla to the top step by step, until it sits on the throne of global auto companies."

  Hearing this sentence, Straubel’s face immediately "returned the sun". He knew that Xia Jingxing's Facebook equity was worth tens of billions of dollars.

  With this gold master's father, Tesla can just rush forward. Even if his head is full of blood, the gold master's father will be able to transfuse the blood when he comes back.

  Throughout the five rounds of Tesla's financing, Xia Jingxing and Envision Capital did not miss any of them, which is enough to show the big boss's preference for Tesla.

   "Well, Darren, I have the confidence to complete this difficult task. No matter how difficult the road ahead is, just open the road when you encounter mountains and build bridges when you encounter water."

  Straubel also continues to encourage himself in his heart. This is a challenging task and a test set by God. If he can successfully pass this test, he will be able to rank among the world's well-known entrepreneurs.

  Xia Jingxing patted Straubel on the shoulder, his tone was full of emotion: "I will send you an old Chinese saying: The road is obstructed and long, and the line is about to come."

  Straubel chewed these words repeatedly, and when he raised his head again, Xia Jingxing had already gone far.

  …………

  …………

  Tesla campus.

  In the open space in front of the building, more than two hundred employees stood loosely.

  Xia Jingxing also did not require employees to line up neatly, because white people are used to being scattered and don't like collectivism, and he doesn't bother to take care of these minor problems.

Under the gaze of more than two hundred eyes, Xia Jingxing stood on the chair next to him and said loudly: "Today is the day when the Roadster will be officially delivered. Excellent staff.

  Now is the time to fulfill the promise!

  Joseph, don’t rush, hurried to the front to pick up the car. "

  The employees applauded and watched a boy with freckles in his twenties walk from behind the crowd to Xia Jingxing's side.

  Being watched by so many people, Joseph was a little bit shy and his face blushed.

  Tesla’s employees are relatively young, because the rules were laid down a few years ago, and ordinary engineers basically only recruit graduates, which is convenient and cheap to train.

  Joseph is considered to be the best among ordinary engineers. Everyone is convinced that he was selected as an outstanding employee.

  Actually, Straubel is the one who has contributed the most, but he has served as the CEO, and there is no need to compete with employees for these not worth a lot of benefits.

  Furthermore, Xia Jingxing is here today to buy people’s hearts and boost morale. Naturally, ordinary engineers have the best results.

  Xia Jingxing didn't linger, and opened the car jacket covered on the side, a new black Roadster revealed the true face of Lushan.

  Looking at the cool appearance, many of the male employees present were almost drooling. This is a powerful tool for making girls.

  Although they deal with this car every day, they really can’t afford it.

  Don’t look at each of them with an annual salary of at least US$70,000, but the consumption level in Silicon Valley is not low. You really can’t save a lot of money throughout the year. Maybe you can’t afford a Roadster sports car after a few years.

  Under the enviable gaze of his colleagues, Joseph took the key Xia Jingxing handed him, and the latter patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

   "Work hard, next year's reward is a house in Silicon Valley."

  This sentence is not only for Joseph, but also for other employees.

  Xia Jingxing stood on the chair again and said loudly: “This year’s outstanding employee award is Roadster, and next year’s award will be even more generous. It is a million-dollar house located in the core area of ​​Silicon Valley.”

  Although Americans do not have the same deep affection for the house as the Chinese, when they heard millions of dollars, the employees on the scene could not help but breathe quickly. This is a huge prize!

  Many people suddenly feel that they are not much worse than Joseph. They will work harder next year, and maybe they will win the prize.

  One by one, the employees began to fall into the vision of a better future, commonly known as "production fantasy".

  Xia Jingxing knows that the departure of the two founders has caused the staff's popularity to float, but these things are not a problem at all in the face of cash capabilities.

  "This year, the company sold a total of 2,450 Roadster cars, including 100 founders series, and created nearly 300 million U.S. dollars in sales.

  So, the company decided to increase the salary of all employees by 10% starting from January next year, that is, starting tomorrow. "

  The employees were overjoyed when they heard the good news. They slapped their hands quickly, and refused to stop when the palms became red.

  Straubel also clapped in the crowd, it is the release of the company’s good news, and the salary increase of all staff, I believe this wave should be able to stabilize the military.

   "Everyone keep on cheering, strive to create better results, and continue to raise wages next year! Tesla, go all out!" After shouting the slogan, Xia Jingxing jumped off his chair.

  The employees still shook their fists on the spot, shouting the slogan "Go All Out" in their mouths, and their expressions were more exciting.

  Straubel walked towards Xia Jing, and he was accompanied by a white man with a beard in his thirties.

   "Darren, is there my share of the salary increase?"

  Xia Jingxing smiled and looked at the beard-faced man who was talking, and said: "You have fixed the interior for me, and your salary will be doubled."

   "It sounds great." The bearded man smiled and shrugged.

   After making a few jokes, he held Xia Jingxing’s shoulders and said in a low voice: "Go, Dai Lun, I will take you to see a baby."

   "Did it come out so soon?" Xia Jingxing was a little surprised.

The bearded man nodded triumphantly.

  (End of this chapter)