Chapter 932 Who Treats Who as a Fool
"Mr. Musk, nice to meet you."
In the presidential suite of the Peninsula Hotel, Zhou Anan met a white man with a square face who looked a little haggard. She smiled and shook hands with him.
Although Zhou Anan had only asked someone to send an email to the other party and had seen the other party's photo before, because she had occasionally read some news in her previous life, she still felt that the other party looked very familiar.
There was a beautiful translator next to her who could speak authentic American English. Zhou Anan did not show any interest in her half-baked English and communicated with the other party in pure Chinese.
So far, he is the other party's only lifeline, and there is no need to pamper him too much.
"Mr. Zhou, I am amazed at your achievements at such a young age."
Looking at the young man in front of him, Musk did not hide his surprise.
Originally, he thought that the Chinese man who sent him an email and said that he had been interested in the aerospace industry since childhood would be a young man born in the 1970s and about the same age as him, but he didn't expect it to be a man born in the 1980s.
The other party is so young, yet he can come up with tens of millions of dollars to support his space career. He must be the rumored rich second generation of China.
The second generation of rich people in China are good. They are stupid and have a lot of money, and they can be easily fooled.
"Mr. Musk is so young, yet he can invest hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a private space business. This is really admirable."
Automatically filtering out the words "young and promising" from the other young male translator who came with him, Zhou Anan smiled and complimented the other party.
By the way, everyone brings a translator who is fluent in Chinese and English, which is a bit of a waste of several thousand dollars in service fees for the day.
However, everyone is afraid that the translator brought by the other party is unreliable, so it is necessary to bring one of your own. After all, it involves an investment of tens of millions of dollars.
If anyone's translation is not appropriate, there will be people who can point out the problems, so it's better to be prepared.
Like in some TV dramas, forcing a plot where a translation leads to the breakdown of a deal is only a fantasy of the screenwriters.
"Although I have spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing a private spacecraft, I am still one step away from success. If I hadn't received Mr. Zhou's invitation, I would have sold more shares and invested in this space industry. I wonder how much money Mr. Zhou is prepared to contribute and what are the conditions?"
Compared with those arrogant North Americans, Musk was frank and straightforward, a typical researcher, and asked directly about the other party's conditions.
Of course, he did not say that his behavior was like gambling on God's will. If the fourth launch failed, it would not be compensated by the investment of tens of millions of dollars.
You have to deceive yourself into confidence first before you can put other people's funds into your own pocket and then spend it on the aerospace industry.
"I can offer $50 million to support Mr. Musk's space business. As for the condition, I want a 10% stake in SpaceX."
Hearing the other party get straight to the point so quickly, Zhou Anan, who had inquired about the other party's personality, didn't waste any words and stated her conditions.
"10%? Impossible. Even if I agree, our company's top management won't agree. Moreover, once SpaceX successfully launches, it will definitely find a way to continue to borrow money from the bank and then get NASA's supply contract. I believe Mr. Zhou has also heard that those arrogant senior officials in North America have always been persecuted and will not allow Chinese people to hold more than 5% of the shares. In that case, even if the rocket is successfully launched, SpaceX will not be able to achieve greater success in North America."
Musk kept talking about a series of troubles despite the other party's not-so-demanding conditions.
If Musk had heard such conditions before last year, he would definitely have said that the other party was daydreaming.
At that time, SpaceX was highly anticipated by investment institutions across the United States, and one point of shares was worth more than tens of millions of dollars.
However, now is the time when he is penniless and can't even raise enough funds for the fourth launch. The other party's conditions are already very generous.
He now tries to save as much as possible even on his daily living expenses. For example, the translator he has now is a Chinese employee hired from Tesla.
But he didn't want to see one-tenth of his shares, which he had worked hard for half his life, taken away so easily by a Chinese, and what he said was true.
If SpaceX wants to gain recognition from senior North American executives, it must not have too many shares held by foreigners.
"I can lower my SpaceX share requirement, but I don't know what kind of compensation Mr. Musk can give me?"
Instead of getting angry because of the other party's denial, Zhou Anan calmly drank a sip of coffee and asked the other party with a smile.
"Mr. Zhou, I can give you at most 2% of SpaceX shares, but I can transfer part of my Tesla shares to you. Tesla is the most advanced company in the field of electric vehicles today. It has..."
When Musk heard that the other party was willing to reduce the conditions for SpaceX shares, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, and then he began to promote another company under his name.
Compared to SpaceX, in which he invested hundreds of millions of dollars, Musk would rather sell Tesla's shares to the other party, which only invested tens of millions of dollars and is on the verge of shutting down due to a financial crisis.
What's more, SpaceX carries his dream, and he can't let a Chinese person steal the fruits easily.
"Mr. Musk, I heard that Tesla's founder, Mr. Eberhard, is not optimistic about the development progress of this electric car, and the company is in financial crisis."
Seeing the other party fooling a fool, Qin Lianjun on the side bluntly exposed the other party's lies and pointed out Tesla's predicament.
Zhou Anan looked at the other person's ugly face and drank her tea calmly.
Even though Tesla will be very successful in a few years, it is now facing bankruptcy because its owner, Musk, has bet everything on SpaceX.
Even though he is very willing to buy Tesla shares, he cannot be too obvious on the surface, lest the other party think he is a rich second-generation Chinese who is stupid and has a lot of money.
“.”
Unexpectedly, his lie was exposed in front of him. Musk, who was originally prepared to continue fooling people, was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to proceed.
The other party is so clear about Tesla's situation, so he must have done relevant investigations in advance.
However, the thick-skinnedness he developed from seeking help from everywhere during this period made Musk's mind work quickly.
Now that the other party knew everything, he would go straight to the point and talk about the future prospects.
"I wonder who this lady is?"
"Oh, this is Ms. Qin Lianjun, my agent in North America."
"Hello, Ms. Qin. Mr. Zhou, it is undeniable that Tesla's development has fallen into a temporary predicament, but the future of electric smart cars is bright."
After simply saying hello to the oriental beauty who interrupted him, Musk continued his new round of deception towards the rich second-generation Chinese.
In his eyes, the one who really decided the investment was this young man who was stupid and had a lot of money.
"I agree with your point of view, Mr. Musk, and I believe that under your leadership, Tesla will achieve brilliant success. I just don't know how many shares you can give me?"
After listening to the other party's beautiful idea, Zhou Anan nodded in approval and asked the most crucial question.
“.”
Musk was a little stunned by the other party's easy recognition of his ideas, but he reacted immediately. He was ecstatic and said calmly: "Mr. Zhou, you should know that I have invested no less than $300 million in Tesla, plus the investment of other shareholders, at least $500 million. Counting Tesla's intangible brand valuation, it has exceeded $800 million. If you invest $50 million, I can give you 12 points of Tesla shares, plus 2% of SpaceX shares."
"12 points of shares is too little, at least 20 points."
Shaking his head, Zhou Anan stated his request calmly.
"No, no, no, I only have 45% of the shares. If I give you 20 points, I will only have 25 points of shares. In that case, I will lose control of the company and will not be able to guide Tesla to become the No. 1 smart electric car in the future."
Although the other party's conditions had met his expectations, Musk, who found that this second-generation rich Chinese was easy to talk to, felt that he could get the right investment at a lower cost.
If you don’t fool stupid investors, when will you?
"18 points, $55 million."
Extending a finger, Zhou Anan began to increase the stakes and also gave in slightly.
Zhang Qian, a temporary wealth advisor and senior manager of Swiss Bank who was following nearby, wanted to persuade them, but she thought of the other party's identity and ultimately did not stop the other party's negotiations.
She is just a wealth advisor, responsible for providing loan services to the other party. As long as the other party's investment amount does not exceed the bank's loan limit, she cannot interfere with the other party's investment behavior at will.
What's more, the huge amount of high-quality assets in the other party's hands is enough for the bank not to worry about the other party's repayment ability. The other party is willing to do so even if he is stupid and has a lot of money.
As an agent, Qin Lianjun knew very well that his junior boss was determined to get Tesla shares, so he would not speak to disrupt the other party's rhythm.
"13 points at most."
"17 points, 56 million."
“.”
"15 points, 60 million."
"make a deal."
(End of this chapter)
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