The two of them were sitting by the window, each with a cup of coffee in front of them.
Zhao Chen didn't beat around the bush and said three things directly.
"Elon, first, Existing Share Acquisition of Era Vanguard is basically completed.
Four Existing Shares shareholders hold a total of 4% of Existing Shares. Including new shares, the total shareholding is about 4.47%."
Elon Musk's hand holding the coffee cup paused. "4.47%? You move very quickly."
Zhao Chen said, "I said, the window of opportunity is short, it won't work if you don't hurry."
Elon Musk put down the coffee cup and looked at him. "What about the second thing?"
Zhao Chen said, "Second, I will continue to acquire. As long as someone wants to sell, I will buy.
If the price is below the valuation of 25 billion, I will accept it directly. If the price exceeds 25 billion, I will discuss it with you."
Elon Musk was silent for a while, and then asked, "How much do you plan to receive?"
Zhao Chen said:
"No more than 10%. You said you don't want any single shareholder to hold more than 10%, and I agree.
4.47% is just the beginning, but I will control it within this red line."
Elon Musk leaned on the back of the chair, crossed his hands on his chest, and looked at Zhao Chen.
There was something inexplicable in his eyes -
It's not vigilance or scrutiny, it's an expression of "I can't understand you more and more."
"What about the third thing?"
Zhao Chen said:
"Third, I promise you--
Era Vanguard holds the SpaceX shares for a long time, does not participate in operations, does not seek Board of Directors Seat, and will not unite with other shareholders to oppose any of your decisions.
This is the same as Tesla."
Elon Musk looked at him and was silent for a few seconds. Then he smiled.
"Zhao, do you know why I am willing to let you in?"
Zhao Chen said nothing.
Elon Musk said, "Because you are the most ideal investor.
Tesla You only do Financial Investment.
9.88%, the second Major Shareholder, does not seek Board of Directors Seat, and does not interfere in business operations.
These ordinary investors can't do it. At SpaceX, I believe you can do it too."
Zhao Chen picked up the coffee cup and took a sip.
The coffee had gone cold, but he didn't frown.
Elon Musk also picked up the cup, took a sip, and put it down.
"Go ahead and collect it. Don't tell me if it's less than 25 billion, just collect it."
If it exceeds 25 billion, just tell me. As long as it does not exceed 10%, I have no objection."
Zhao Chen nodded. "Okay."
Elon Musk Stand up and put on your hat.
"Zhao, I still have a meeting. Next time you come to New York, I will take you to see Starship's test."
Zhao Chen also stood up. "Okay. I'll wait."
Elon Musk turned around and walked out. Zhao Chen stood in front of the window, watching his car drive out of the parking lot and disappear into the Manhattan traffic.
He picked up the cup of cold coffee and took another sip, the bitter taste spreading on his tongue.
April 2, Monday, New York.
The stock price of Tesla rushed to 298 US Dollar within half an hour after the market opened.
The integer mark of 300 US Dollar is right in front of you.
Zhao Chen stood in front of the hotel screen, watching the number climb up bit by bit.
298.2,298.5,299.1.
Selling orders suddenly poured out, not scattered retail selling orders, but neat institutional selling orders, suppressed layer by layer.
299, 298, 297. Within half an hour, the stock price dropped back to 295.
In the morning, I made two more moves, reaching a maximum of 299.8, but each time I was hit in front of 300 US Dollar.
The intensity of selling is getting stronger every time, as if someone is deliberately holding this line.
At the close, Tesla closed at 294.5 US Dollar, down 5 US Dollar from the intraday high.
300 US Dollar pass, still not passed.
Zhao Chen looked at the number on the screen and said nothing.
Tuesday, April 3rd.
Tesla opened at 293 US Dollar, fell to 288 US Dollar during the session, rebounded slightly before closing, and closed at 290 US Dollar.
The stock price turned down in front of 300 US Dollar and began to seek to bottom out.
Short Sellers did not give up completely. They deployed heavy troops at the 300 US Dollar mark to block the first wave of bulls' charge.
After the close of the day, the market direction began to change.
The title of an analysis article by Bloomberg is:
"Why did Tesla:300 US Dollar become the ceiling?".
The article wrote, "Era Vanguard's 9.88% shareholding report and Elon Musk's announcement once made the market think that bulls would break through 300 US Dollar in one fell swoop.
However, two consecutive days of highs and lows proved that Short Sellers's defense line was far stronger than expected.
Tesla's Fundamentals has not improved, the production capacity problem has not been solved, and cash flow is still tight.
300 US Dollar, may be an insurmountable threshold in the short term."
CNBC commentator Jim Cramer changed his tone on the show:
"I said last week that Era Vanguard might detonate Short Sellers, but now it seems that the bulls' momentum is gone.
Tesla requires substantive capacity data, not a fund's secondary Major Shareholder status.
If the numbers in the first quarter report are not good, the stock price may fall back below 250."
Wednesday, April 4th.
Tesla opened at 289 US Dollar, hit an intraday low of 285 US Dollar, and closed at 286.5 US Dollar.
For three consecutive trading days, the stock price fell from 299.8 to 286.5, a drop of more than 4%.
Various Short Selling Tesla and Era Vanguard words that made Era Vanguard lose everything began to appear in the media and social media.
"Era Vanguard's floating loss on Tesla exceeds 250 million US Dollar. If the stock price falls back to 250, the floating loss will exceed 700 million US Dollar."
"Elon Musk's mouth can't save Tesla. Era Vanguard's money can't save either."
"Bitcoin's giant whale ran aground in front of the electric car."
"Era Vanguard is the next SoftBank? I bet on Tesla, I'm afraid I'll lose everything."
Zhao Chen is sitting on the sofa in the hotel, flipping through these comments on his phone.
Zhang Qingxue stood nearby with a solemn expression.
"Xiao Chen, do you want to make a statement through Twitter of Era Vanguard? Or ask Lin Shicheng to arrange an interview?"
Zhao Chen shook his head. "No need."
He put down his cell phone, picked up the water glass on the coffee table, and took a sip.
"They say it's theirs, and I buy mine. When the stock price falls, I make a floating loss. When the stock price rises, I make a floating profit.
Floating losses and profits are not actual losses and gains. If I don't sell, they can never say I'm wrong."
Zhang Qingxue looked at him and was silent for a while. "Then shall we continue to wait?"
Zhao Chen stood up and walked to the window.
The night view of Manhattan spread out outside the glass window, and the spire of Empire State Building was lit with white lights.
"No wait. Where the bottom is, I don't know. But I know one thing - it won't keep falling.
We have bought everything we should buy, and all that is left is to wait. There is no difference between waiting at Shan City and waiting at New York."
He turned around. "Aunt Zhang, pack your things. Return to China tomorrow."
Zhang Qingxue nodded and turned to pack his luggage.
Zhao Chen stood alone in front of the window, looking at Manhattan outside the window.
Those skyscrapers shimmered in the night like a forest made of glass and steel.
He took out his mobile phone and glanced at the stock price of Tesla - 286.5 US Dollar.
The floating losses were still there, and more so than last week. But he was thinking about something else.
At this time in 2018, Tesla's stock price did bottom out repeatedly below 300 US Dollar.
Short Sellerss shouted "Tesla is going bankrupt", and the media wrote bad stories one after another.
Then, in June, the weekly production capacity of Model 3 exceeded 5,000 units. The stock price rose from 280 to 380.
Those who are shouting "lost all their money" now will shout "shocking reversal" by then.
They are always shouting, and he is always doing it.
Zhao Chen put away the phone, closed the curtains, and turned off the lights.
Tomorrow, he will go back to Shan City.
Henglong's things, Shunxin Agriculture's things, Bubble Mary's things are all waiting for him.
The matter of New York has come to an end for the time being. SpaceX's share acquisition is still progressing, but that is Lin Shicheng's matter.
Tesla's stock price is still falling, but that is no longer under his control.
All he can control is his position and patience.