"When did you start paying attention to Tesla?"
Zhao Chen said, "It's been a long time. I started paying attention to it since Roadster.
But I really thought Tesla would win when Model 3 was released in 2016.
That night you stood on the tarmac at Los Angeles and said, 'We're going to make electric cars affordable for everyone.'
People in the audience are cheering, but I don't think they understand what you are saying."
Elon Musk asked, "Then what did you understand?"
Zhao Chen said, "I understand what you are saying - electric cars are not a luxury or a toy for the rich, they are a means of transportation for everyone.
This goal is a hundred times harder than building a sports car that accelerates faster. But you have chosen this path, and you are taking it."
Elon Musk looked at him and suddenly smiled.
There is something Zhao Chen in that smile that is rarely seen on other people's faces -
It's not the pleasure after being complimented, but the relief after being truly understood.
"You know Tesla better than 99% of investors." Elon Musk said.
Zhao Chen shook his head. "I don't understand Tesla. I understand you. The way you do things is different from others."
Others make electric cars because there is market demand. You make electric cars because you feel that internal combustion engines are too backward and must be eliminated.
Others make rockets because they have commercial launch contracts. You make rockets because you think humans must go to Mars."
Elon Musk said nothing, but his eyes did not leave Zhao Chen's face.
Zhao Chen said, "In this world, 99.9% of people are doing what is 'feasible'. You are doing what is 'should'.
These two things are the same thing most of the time. But at the most critical time, they are opposite.
The market feels that it should reduce costs, increase profits, and please investors.
You think we should build better cars, cheaper batteries, and more powerful rockets.
These two directions are contradictory in the short term, but unified in the long term.
But most people don't see the long term. They only see Tesla losing money and SpaceX exploding."
Elon Musk was silent for a long time.
The sunlight coming from the window casts half light and half shadow on his side face.
Then he said something Zhao Chen didn't expect.
"Are you interested in rockets?"
Zhao Chen was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "You mean SpaceX?"
Elon Musk nodded.
"I am working on a new project recently - Starship. It is bigger than Falcon Heavy and stronger than Saturn V.
It is completely reusable and can send a load of 100 tons to the Mars track.
If successful, humans can establish a colony on Mars."
When he said "Mars", the light in his eyes was different.
It's not the shrewdness of a CEO talking about Financial Report, but something more primitive and fiery.
Like a child talking about his favorite toy.
Of course Zhao Chen knows Starship.
He knew that this project would explode again and again in a few years, fail again and again, be ridiculed by the media, and be considered an impossible task by everyone.
Then, in 2024, it will fly.
The stainless steel shell pierces the sky like a silver arrow in the desert of Texas.
He knew this, but he couldn't say it.
He could only use his own judgment to make Elon Musk believe that he could see the future.
"Starship." Zhao Chen said, "The stainless steel shell, Raptor engine, is completely reusable.
The goal is to reduce launch costs to less than 100 US Dollar per kilogram.
You choose stainless steel not because it's cheap - although it is - but because stainless steel is more stable than carbon fiber in extreme temperatures.
You don't need to put on thousands of insulation tiles like Space Shuttle, stainless steel itself can withstand the high temperature of re-entry into the atmosphere.
This idea is derived from physics First Principles, not from existing technology."
Elon Musk's body leaned forward.
His hand was placed on the table, his fingers no longer tapping the table, but completely still.
This is the state when a person is completely attracted.
Zhao Chen continued, "Falcon 9's first-level recovery has proven one thing - rockets do not need to be disposable.
This is the biggest blind spot in thinking in the aerospace industry for decades.
Everyone assumes that rockets are thrown away when they are used up, because this is how this industry has been done since the beginning.
No one asked 'why'.
You asked, you tried, you succeeded."
He paused and his voice became slower.
"Starship is the end point of this logic. It's not 'recycle part', it's 'recycle all'.
It's not 'reduce the cost a little', it's 'reduce the cost by two orders of magnitude'.
100 US Dollar per kilogram, what does it mean?
This means that the cost of sending a person into space has dropped from tens of millions US Dollar to tens of thousands US Dollar.
This means that building a city on Mars is no longer science fiction, but an engineering problem."
Elon Musk looked at him and was silent for about ten seconds.
Then he said something, his voice was very low, but every word was clear.
"You are the first investor I have ever met to tell me this.
It's not about when IPO, when it will be profitable, or how to exit.
It's telling me - this is an engineering problem."
Zhao Chen smiled. "Because I do engineering. My previous main business was real estate, and real estate is also engineering."
Transforming a project from blueprints to a house is essentially the same thing as transforming a rocket from blueprints to an aircraft -
You need to find the right approach and then execute it."
Elon Musk leaned back on the chair and looked at the ceiling. His expression became a little distant.
"Many people think I am daydreaming. Mars immigration, Brain-Computer Interface, underground tunnels.
They think these things will never happen. But I know they can.
What I need isn't money - money is everywhere. What I need is - someone who understands what I'm doing."
Zhao Chen looked at him and suddenly said something he had been thinking about for a long time.
"Elon, I very much agree with what you often say First Principles!"
Elon Musk turned his head and looked at Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen said, "Break the problem down to its most basic principles, and then work your way up from there.
It's not 'I will do what others do', but 'What is the optimal solution allowed by the laws of physics'.
When you make Tesla, disassemble the battery into carbon, nickel, aluminum, and polymer, and then ask--
How much are these raw materials worth in London Metal Exchange?
The answer is 80 US Dollar per kilowatt hour, not the market price of 600 US Dollar.
So you know, batteries can be cheaper.
When you build SpaceX, you dismantle the rocket into aluminum alloy, titanium, copper, and carbon fiber, and then ask - how much do these raw materials cost?
The answer is 2% of the rocket price, not 100%.
So you know, rockets can be cheaper."