The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 320



Only Krnovel

320. After waiting (4)

8,000 people in queue.

It was a queue on the Apple Car reservation site that I refreshed before leaving work.

Since I recorded the queues that appear when reserving train tickets on holidays, I went to work early in the morning full of anticipation.

I wasn’t the only one with high expectations.

President Han Jeong-hoon and the head of the planning department were waiting for me, and even before I entered the chairman’s office, they told me the good news.

“Chairman! Yesterday, more than 10,000 people made reservations in Korea alone. And more than 100,000 people made reservations around the world!”

“From what I heard from an American source, there is even a place that handles Apple Car reservations and purchases.”

100,000 people in one day?

I definitely expected that the results would exceed my imagination, but I never thought there would be 100,000 people.

I wanted to at least cheer.

I worked hard to gather myself and regain my composure.

“It is said that there are 100,000 pre-order buyers, but less than 50% of them actually turn into purchases. It is highly likely that the majority are imaginary numbers.”

“Even if 50% is an imaginary number, at the current rate, more than 200,000 customers will make pre-orders within a month. That means at least 100,000 people will make actual purchases, which is enough to sell all of the production.”

No matter how negatively I tried to think about it, the indicators were very good.

The number of Apple cars that can be produced by the launch date is 100,000.

However, since 100,000 pre-orders came in in just one day, it was inevitable that more purchases would continue than production.

“When the launch date arrives, you will be able to see how many pre-orders there are. What will Tesla’s response be?”

“In some ways, the response is better than when the Apple Car was launched. Perhaps because the electric car market received attention due to the Apple Car, all media outlets in the U.S. covered Tesla extensively. In particular, there were reports that Tesla was not a competitor because it released a model that was not included in the Apple Car. there is.”

Tesla wasn’t the only one benefiting.

As interest in electric vehicles grew, Apple car sales also increased.

Tesla was taking the baton and running in an atmosphere that could have been quiet.

“I’m glad Tesla responded well.”

“Maybe that’s why Tesla is moving to go public on Nasdaq soon.”

“It’s a little early. I thought we wouldn’t go public until next year.”

The CEO of Tesla was Musk.

Although I was the majority shareholder, I left the management of the company to him.

When we met before, he also mentioned plans to list Tesla on Nasdaq.

“It may be a little early, but now seems like a good opportunity to list on Nasdaq. Wouldn’t the higher the expectations, the higher the stock price?”

“Indeed, expectations are probably the highest now, right before the product is released, rather than when the actual product is released.”

Musk certainly knew how to smell money.

They must have instinctively felt that listing on Nasdaq now would be the best way to raise the price of their public offering.

Although my stake could have been lowered a bit.

There wouldn’t be a big difference, and since all you had to do was maintain your stake by purchasing part of it through a fintech bank, there was no problem.

“And if Tesla is highly regarded through its initial public offering, I think we can continue to see interest in electric vehicles.”

“First, I need to contact Musk. Please leave for a moment.”

President Han and the head of planning left the chairman’s office.

I called Musk’s number before the door closed.

[Mr. Kim! What are you doing at this hour?]

“I heard good news, so I called to confirm. Are you preparing for listing on Nasdaq?”

[wow! As expected, this is Mr. Kim. It was done in extreme secrecy, but you know it. I just consulted with a few experts about listing on NASDAQ. I tried to consult with Mr. Kim before proceeding with the listing process. If Mr. Kim objects, she plans to postpone the listing.]

Will Musk really postpone the listing just because I oppose it?

It might be possible if I came up with something that could persuade him, but it was clear that he would just push through most of the time.

There was no need for us to disagree and have a falling out.

The timing of the NASDAQ listing was not bad, so there was no reason to oppose it.

“I have entrusted all decision-making authority for Tesla to Musk. If you want to go public, you can do so.”

[Instead of saying that, please tell me whether listing was the right decision or not.]

“It seems like a very good time for Tesla’s corporate value to be highly evaluated.”

[When Mr. Kim said that, I felt much more at ease. We will begin the NASDAQ listing process starting today! And we will take various measures to preserve the current shareholding structure as much as possible.]

It was Musk who even worried about my shares.

It was a pointless worry. Because I was a person who took care of my share better than anyone else.

“Don’t think about me, just focus on the NASDAQ listing.”

[Still, you can’t offend a top investor.]

“Don’t worry, if you issue new shares, I will buy them. That way, Tesla’s stock price won’t rise any higher.”

[thank you! Then, we will start listing on NASDAQ without any hesitation.]

The short phone call with Musk has ended.

I called a president who was waiting into the chairman’s office.

“Musk is said to be planning to list on Nasdaq soon. Move a few fintech banks and paper companies to buy new shares. You just need to buy enough to maintain the shares you currently own.”

“There is no need for a fintech bank to step forward to that extent. You can purchase enough just by using a few Faker Companies.”

“But wouldn’t it make the news at least once if I buy shares from a reputable bank?”

“I was short-thinking. If a fintech bank buys Tesla shares, the stock price will rise further.”

There were many ways to raise stock prices.

However, even if we did not use that method, Tesla’s stock price would rise, so we only planned to use the name of the fintech bank.

“How are battery companies doing these days? The deficit has decreased a lot, right?”

“A lot of electric batteries are being sold through the shared mobility business, and a large amount of chargers are being sold to build electric vehicle infrastructure, so a surplus is expected starting this quarter.”

Taew, Kai and even Tesla.

What created this competitive structure was not only because I owned a large stake in all the companies, but also because I had a monopoly on the batteries that went into it, which encouraged competition.

“Once the electric vehicle market is properly formed, batteries will definitely serve as a cash cow.”

“You need to see a surplus for at least five years to recoup the money you have invested so far.”

“Don’t worry, the electric vehicle market will last for more than 5 years. And invest most of the surplus back into technology development.”

“We already have superior technology than any other battery company in the world. The technology gap is at least two levels higher.”

“We can monopolize the battery market only if we maintain the technological gap. There is no need to take actions that cut our own weight, such as cutting costs or reducing technological development, just to make money right away.”

There was a repertoire of successful companies failing due to technology.

When experts or engineers create innovative technologies and grow a company, executives who only know about numbers come in and reduce investment.

Then, profits will increase significantly for 1-2 years.

Eventually, the technology gap narrows, and the pie is lost to competitors.

Unless the company was sold to another company, that approach was never profitable in the long run.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Oh! And Taewoong Semiconductor’s sales have also increased significantly. The number of semiconductors used in electric vehicles is at least three to seven times that of internal combustion engine vehicles, so Taewoong Semiconductor is screaming with happiness.”

“It won’t just be a happy scream. The production facilities themselves are often different for the semiconductors used in home appliances and the semiconductors used in automobiles.”

In many cases, existing semiconductor facilities had to be remodeled to produce automotive semiconductors.

Semiconductors are manufactured in the form of round plates called wafers, and while wafers for smartphones were 12 inches, wafers for automobiles were 8 inches.

“I don’t know the details of what happened at Taewoo Semiconductor, but I heard that the management is responding through improvisation.”

“Please be patient. A semiconductor factory will be completed in Gyeonggi-do soon, so from then on, we plan to build a factory exclusively for automotive semiconductors.”

“In the case of automotive semiconductors, the profitability is low. They cost only about $2 each. In this situation, for an automotive semiconductor factory to see a profit, at least 4 million electric vehicles must be sold a year.”

Although it was a CEO who didn’t know much about semiconductors.

Because he was good at numbers, he was able to calculate profitability in a short period of time.

“The day will come when we sell 1 million units within a year. If not only Taewoo, Kai, and Tesla, but also most auto manufacturers enter the electric vehicle market, there will come a day when we sell not just 1 million units, but more than 10 million units.”

“You are saying that you will create an automotive semiconductor ecosystem starting now to prepare for that time.”

“Since we are making a profit from smartphones, we can survive even if we suffer a small loss at the automotive semiconductor factory.”

The day when there would be a supply shortage of automotive semiconductors was bound to come.

At that time, automotive semiconductors will have become valuable enough to be used as strategic weapons.

Therefore, Taewo Semiconductor and Taewo Group had to prepare in advance from now on to gain an advantage.

“I will consult with the planning office and meet with Taewo Semiconductor’s management.”

“There will be a lot of work at Taewoo Securities, and I’m sorry for making you worry about other affiliates’ issues.”

“Not at all!”

“You can only get a higher position if you know everything about other affiliates, so please pay a little more attention.”

There was only one position higher than Taewoo Securities.

Chairman would be the highest position, but that position could not be given.

Then, the only thing left was the position of vice president.

From the time President Han was brought to Taewoo Securities, the position of Vice Chairman was in mind.

Of course not right now.

Within 10 years at the latest, unless President Han had a major accident, the position of vice president was his.

President Han was well aware of this fact, so he did not complain about the excessive workload.

In fact, he liked it more and even showed a willingness to do more.

“After discussing with the planning office by today, I will visit Taewo Semiconductor right away tomorrow.”

“Don’t proceed too hastily.”

“We will proceed meticulously and quickly! If we move now, we will have plenty of time.”

He was a president who had already set his sights on his goal of becoming vice president.

Even when I tried to stop him, he ran out of the chairman’s office and ran to the planning office.

* * *

A month passes.

Tesla was finally listed on the NASDAQ market.

After hearing the news, a president rushed to the chairman’s office and poured out a report.

“Tesla’s response has been very enthusiastic. The public offering price was set high, starting at $17, but it has already risen 12% to exceed $19.”

“The listing is progressing quickly and the stock price is also rising quickly.”

“In the case of Tesla, it was a company that Nasdaq was looking at with interest, and it was quickly listed thanks to the value of Musk’s name and the chairman’s support behind the scenes.”

Tesla’s stock price was rising like crazy.

That also meant that the value of the Tesla stocks I owned was also increasing.

“Watch how much it rises today. Even if it doesn’t, it will rise by more than 30%.”

“Looking at the response now, it looks like we can climb to even higher heights. We will continue to keep an eye on it.”

Should we call it a historic moment?

It occurred to me that now might be the moment when the madness of the electric vehicle market begins.