The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 319



Only Krnovel

319. After waiting (3)

Only the final US schedule remains.

It was a meeting with Tesla’s Musk, who will build an electric car to compete with the Apple Car.

In order to grow the electric vehicle market, various companies had to enter the electric vehicle market, and Musk’s Tesla could be a good running mate.

“Mr. Kim! How long has it been since this!”

“It was a new experience to see it in the Marshall Islands and then in the United States.”

“Did you hear the news? This time, the fifth rocket launch was successful. The U.S. Department of Defense also asked us to come back to the U.S. And there are good talks going on with NASA.”

It was the first successful space rocket launch by a private company.

It may have been a coincidence once, but because it was successful twice in a row, NASA was also sending love calls.

“Now the time for patience is over. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Mr. Kim suffered more than me. He was the only one who believed in and supported the rocket launch that no one believed in!”

“I believe in not only space rocket launches but also electric vehicles.”

“At first, I felt like I was a bit stabbed in the back. I never expected that Taewo Group would join hands with Apple and introduce an electric car.”

From Musk’s perspective, it could have felt like an act of betrayal.

Because they joined hands with Apple and announced an electric car without even saying a word.

“It was an inevitable choice to popularize the electric vehicle market.”

“I know, too. I thought it was impossible for Tesla to build electric vehicle infrastructure alone. Rather, thanks to the Apple Car, Tesla was able to enter the electric vehicle market more easily.”

Fortunately, it was Musk who did not misunderstand.

That’s because interest in electric vehicles has grown with the Apple Car, and if Tesla launches an electric car now, synergy could be achieved.

“Apple Car and Tesla must grow together in order to grow the electric vehicle market. And the U.S. government must also actively advance American companies into the electric vehicle market, which can serve as a justification for spending more money to build infrastructure.”

“Next month, we will simultaneously announce the Tesla S in the form of a large sedan and the second generation Roadstar in the form of a sports car.”

“Because it is a model that is not included in the Apple Car, we can fully share the pie. And Taewoo Group will also provide a lot of support for the new car presentation.”

It was all money that came to me anyway.

Whether the Apple Car or Tesla is sold, there is no need to keep it in check because the profits come into my pocket. Rather, I have to actively support them to earn more profits.

“Don’t worry about the new car launch. The level of attention is rising due to the successful launch of the space rocket. And since the Apple Car has even warmed up, why not make a fuss in the media?”

“I will leave the new car presentation entirely to CEO Musk. I will provide support behind the scenes.”

Actually, I couldn’t help much.

Musk, who had once again raised his profile with the successful launch of a space rocket, had already risen to the ranks of star executives.

“We have already received a lot of help. From the automatic parking system to the software, everything was possible thanks to the Taewo Group. In particular, we received a lot of help in terms of software.”

“Apple Car is optimized for the iPhone, but Tesla’s operating system is designed to be compatible with other smartphones, including the iPhone, so it will be different.”

Apple users tended to prefer the Apple Car.

Therefore, it had to be optimized for the iPhone, but in the case of Tesla, there was no need to target only the iPhone, so it was designed to be compatible with all smartphones.

“But even if the U.S. market says so, I don’t know how other markets will react.”

“It will work well in the European market. However, in order to enter the Asian market, especially the Chinese market, we need to build a factory in China.”

There was no other option to receive subsidies from the Chinese government.

Although the factory may have to be withdrawn later, profits of more than dozens of times could be realized by selling electric vehicles in the Chinese market for even a few years.

“We will build a factory in China, but it is too risky to build in just one place in China. So, we are thinking about increasing the size of the Korean factory a little.”

“Expanding the factory in Korea is not a bad choice.”

“Still, Chinese factories will be the main ones.”

Manufacturing was ultimately a battle over labor costs.

Since labor costs in Korea are several times higher than in China, it made sense to build a factory in China at this point.

“Just laying the foundation in Korea will be of great help. As with investments, the risks will be reduced if factories are dispersed in multiple locations.”

“I understand that the factory under construction in Gyeonggi-do will be completed early next year. I will visit Korea in time for completion.”

“Then, I will be waiting for you to watch the new product presentation in Korea.”

I ended my US itinerary by shaking hands with Musk.

Now all that remains is to return to Korea and wait for the launch of Tesla and Apple Car.

* * *

After a short itinerary in the US, I returned to Korea.

In a move reminiscent of a military operation, he barely escaped the reporters and returned to the company.

“Thank you for your hard work! Apple’s new product launch was covered in the media almost in real time. Various media outlets also published articles praising the Chairman.”

“This isn’t the first time, but you’re making such a fuss. What’s the reaction to Apple Car?”

It was a CEO who was preparing to pour out flattering remarks.

I quickly cut him off and looked at the situation in Korea.

“There is a tremendous response in Korea as well. Not only Taewo Motors but also the Taewo Group headquarters are being paralyzed with inquiries about purchasing the Apple Car.”

“It’s not a company’s duty to refuse customers’ requests. Start pre-orders this week.”

“The government has not yet decided exactly how much subsidy it will provide. If we start pre-orders now that the subsidy policy has not been announced, won’t the price feel burdensome?”

The Korean government has not yet confirmed the payment of subsidies.

It was expected that a subsidy of 3 to 8 million won would be provided, which would have the effect of reducing more than 10% of the vehicle price.

“People who will buy at a high price should make reservations first now. Once the subsidy policy is confirmed, additional reservations can be accepted.”

“But if pre-orders are accepted only in Korea, won’t overseas customers protest? It seems good to start pre-orders in the US, Europe, China, and even Saudi Arabia.”

“Proceed like that. With Taewo IT’s help, we will be able to complete the reservation sales system within this week.”

It wasn’t actually for sale, it was just taking reservations.

Creating a system like that could have been done in one day even without Cheon Min-jeong participating.

In addition, Taew and Kai Automobiles already operate a new car reservation site, so it only needed to be modified a little.

“Then, the down payment will be 100,000 won as before.”

“If you receive a reservation for free, there may be a flood of false reservations, so it would be better to charge about 100,000 won.”

It was a down payment that had to be returned in full if a refund was made.

However, since it had to go through a two-step process of contract and refund, the number of false reservations was expected to be greatly reduced.

“We will open the reservation site within this week. And many customers are requesting to see the Apple Car in person.”

“Of course we have to display it. You can’t ask people to buy a car that costs a lot of money without seeing it in person. Please display the Apple Car at Taewo and Kai car stores. Also, please discuss with Apple that you will display the Apple Car at Apple stores as well. .”

“Are you saying we should display it in stores around the world?”

“First, display it in stores in major cities in each country, and gradually increase the number of display stores.”

Apple cars are still being produced diligently.

We were able to build up 100,000 units in inventory by the end of the year when it was officially launched.

Even if thousands of units were used as exhibition vehicles, it was a number that would not cause much trouble.

“We have enough inventory, so I think it’s possible. No matter how worthy the Apple name is, wouldn’t it be difficult for global sales to reach 100,000 units in one month?”

“In the case of smartphones, which cost less than 1 million won, more than 1 million units are sold in a month. It would be difficult for a car that costs tens of millions of won to sell that much in a short period of time.”

To be honest, just having 100,000 units in inventory was crazy.

Even if Taewu and Kai cars were combined, it would be difficult to sell even 100,000 units a year for a single car model.

Since they had already accumulated a year’s worth of inventory, if it remained as bad inventory, Taewo and Kai Motors would have had to endure huge losses.

“Still, the market response is not bad, so I think we will be able to sell all of our inventory within a year. It will not be too late to decide whether to add production after seeing the situation after launch.”

“It’s a bit unfortunate that we have to exclude China.”

“Only products produced within China can receive subsidies, so the 100,000 units in inventory produced in Korea and the United States cannot be sold to China.”

Apple cars were being produced at factories in Korea and the United States.

This quantity had to be sold to global markets excluding China.

Did I take too much of it?

I briefly thought about whether I should reduce production even now, but I did not reduce production because I believed that even if it was left in stock, it would eventually be sold out.

* * *

A week later.

In the meantime, the Apple Car was displayed in stores in Korea and the United States.

Because interest in Apple Car was still strong, the number of customers visiting stores increased more than threefold.

And Taewoo IT’s developers created the perfect pre-order site.

Taewoo Motors and Kai Motors began global simultaneous reservation sales today.

“Chairman! We’re in big trouble!”

“Is there a problem?”

The planning manager suddenly rushed into the chairman’s office.

He continued speaking out of breath with a thoughtful look on his face.

“The server for the pre-order site went down due to heavy traffic.”

“Don’t worry. Taew IT has fully applied the recovery system in case the server goes down. It will be restored within 5 minutes at the latest. But will the server ever go down? Was there an attack?”

Taewo Group had a large data center.

The server was operated under a contract with a large data center located in the United States and Hong Kong.

Therefore, in most cases, the server did not go down, and there were suspicions that a DDoS attack might have been launched by a competitor.

“According to the security team, it was not a DDoS attack. They said it was just a large number of users accessing the site.”

“Tell them to increase the number of servers right now. If it is difficult to increase the number of servers, tell them to sign a contract with a new data center right now.”

It wasn’t a DDoS attack, but the server exploded?

In the case of a successful game or Internet service, it is said that it is good news for the server to explode during the launch period.

How many Apple Car reservations will come in today?

I felt a pleasant shiver and tried refreshing the Apple Car reservation site.