He has known Elon Musk for so long,
I've seen him talk endlessly at the press conference,
I've seen him speak freely on Twitter,
I saw him squatting in front of Raptor engine and arguing with the engineer.
I have seen the fire in his eyes when he stood under Starworm and looked up at that Stainless Steel Water Tower.
But he has never seen Elon Musk speak in this tone--
It's not Hunter's excitement when he sees prey, but the almost instinctive and uncontrollable desire of an engineer when he sees a technology that can really change the rules of the game.
"Have you ever invested in a company in China?" Zhao Chen asked.
"No." Elon Musk said,
"Tesla built a factory in Magic City, using local Bank Loan. I personally have never made equity investment in China."
Zhao Chen was silent for a moment.
He knew what Elon Musk said was true.
In 2018 Elon Musk, all the capital was bet on Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity.
The Magic City factory of Tesla is still under construction, and the funds used are Bank Loan of China, not his personal money.
He has never personally invested in any China start-up.
Not once.
At this moment, this man who has never invested in China companies is standing in the sunshine of the Texas wilderness,
Holding a Energy Storage Materials test report from Shanghai in his hand, he asked him-"Can I vote?"
"Are you serious?" Zhao Chen asked.
"Do I look like I'm kidding?"
Elon Musk opened the report and tapped his finger on the cycle life page.
"Zhao, do you know what is the biggest bottleneck in Tesla's Energy Storage business now? It's not market demand, it's the cost of electricity.
Megapack uses lithium batteries, which have a cycle life of five to eight thousand times.
If there is a Thermal Storage Material that can achieve a cycle life of more than 10,000 times, and at the same time the cost is 35% lower--
Then Tesla's Energy Storage business is not just for peak shaving for the power grid.
It could eat up the entire Industrial Waste Heat Recovery market."
He closed the report.
"I need this company. Not to make money, but to enable Tesla's Energy Storage business to compete with everyone within five years."
Zhao Chen looked at him, and a very complicated emotion suddenly surged in his heart.
He came to Boca Chica with this report because he wanted Elon Musk to help him confirm the value of the technical data.
He thought that Elon Musk would be interested, but he did not expect that he would directly ask to participate in financing.
What he didn't even expect was that Elon Musk was clearly using his own way to give Zhao Chen a platform--
A global technology icon who has never invested in China companies suddenly wants to participate in the Series B financing of a Shanghai start-up company--
But he said it as if he was asking Zhao Chen to do him a favor.
Zhao Chen accepted this sentiment.
"What are your conditions?"
Elon Musk Hold up a finger.
"Samples. I want to get enough samples to make Independent Testing in Tesla's materials laboratory.
This is not a test by a third-party organization, but by Tesla's own laboratory.
If the test results are consistent with this report, I will participate in this round of financing in my own name.
The amount will not be too large, tens of millions US Dollar, and a few points of shares are enough.
What I want is not shares, but a position where I can enter this company Supply Chain at any time."
Zhao Chen nodded. "I will arrange the samples."
Elon Musk handed the report back to him.
"Zhao, do you know what I admire most about you?"
Zhao Chen said nothing.
"You didn't ask me 'Tesla can you help this company enter Supply Chain'."
Elon Musk's eyes met with his,
"You're not here to ask me for help, you're here to confirm whether your judgment is correct.
For you, as long as you get the answer you want, it doesn't matter whose Supply Chain you get into."
He stretched out his hand.
"The samples have arrived and the test results are out. I will go to Magic City."
Zhao Chen held his hand, Texas The sunlight cast a clear shadow between the two of them.
"For you, as long as you get the answer you want, it doesn't matter whose Supply Chain you get into."
Back in Brownsville's car, Zhao Chen sent a message to Su Wantang.
"Book a flight and return home."
Su Wantang's reply came almost instantly, "When?"
"The sooner the better."
"There is a direct flight from Houston to Magic City tomorrow morning. The landing time is the afternoon after tomorrow. There are still seats in business class."
"Order."
Zhao Chen put away his cell phone and looked at the Texas wilderness passing by outside the car window.
Withered bushes, exposed rocks, and the occasional flash of cactus, he walked back and forth on this road several times, with a different mood every time.
The first time I came to watch the Starworm test, I brought Su Wantang and Lin Shicheng, and all I could think about were the positions of Nvidia and Selling Pressure of SoftBank.
This time it was a person who came with a test report and left with a promise from Elon Musk.
As the car passed the road leading to Brownsville, he dialed the number Lin Shicheng.
"Zhao Zong." Lin Shicheng's voice came from New York, and the low current sound of Bloomberg Terminal could be vaguely heard in the background.
"Nvidia, I leave full authority to you."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.
"Zhao Zong wants to return to China?"
"Yes. Green Energy Technology, Series B's financing negotiations have reached a critical point, and I must be there in person."
Zhao Chen paused for a moment, "Nvidia's follow-up position building, you control the rhythm. I only have one constraint."
"You said."
"When you get 9.99 percent off, stop."
Lin Shicheng did not answer the call immediately.
Nine point ninety-nine percent, only one step away from the SEC's 10 percent red line.
He has been working as a legal practitioner at Wall Street for twenty years, and he knows very well what this number means--
This is the limit that passive investors can hold without triggering 13D declaration and Section 16 Insider status.
If you buy even 10,000 shares, the whole rules of the game will completely change.
"Zhao Zong, you mean to complete all preparations before breaking through 10%."
"Draft of.13D declaration, compliance with Section 16 Contingency Plan, communication with Nvidia investor relations department, and--"
Zhao Chen's voice deepened,
"The communication window with Huang Renxun himself. All these must be ready before the shareholding reaches 9.99%.
Don't buy more than one share until you're ready."
Lin Shicheng took a deep breath.
"I understand. Nine point ninety-nine percent is the pause line, not the finish line. Do not touch the ten percent line until the preparations are completed."
"Leave it to you."
Zhao Chen hung up the phone and leaned on the seat. Texas The winter sun shone slanting in through the car window, casting a clear line between light and dark on his face.
Nvidia is guarded by Lin Shicheng, so he can rest assured.
That old lawyer who has been working at Wall Street for twenty years knows better than anyone he has ever seen how to walk the tightrope under the eyes of the SEC.
Lin Shicheng will guard the 9.99% line for him.
What he has to do now is to fly across the entire Pacific Ocean, go to Magic City, and hold the other line for Green Energy Technology.