The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 324



Only Krnovel

324. If you hold on, you will win the fight (3)

The long-awaited Apple Car release date.

Although it will be released on the same day all over the world, sales began in Asia first due to the time difference.

Sales figures by country were updated in real time on the large monitor in the chairman’s office.

The planning director compiled various information and reported it to me.

“The countries where we have started selling now are Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan.”

“Certainly, sales volume in China is overwhelmingly high.”

“This is partly because the population is so large, and partly because the Chinese government has taken the initiative in building electric vehicle infrastructure.”

In a way, it was natural since China has a large population.

If you look at the sales volume compared to the population, more Apple cars were being sold in Korea.

“To date, all 100 pre-order buyers have completed purchasing the Apple Car.”

“It’s amazing that there isn’t a single imaginary number.”

“There are no imaginary numbers in Korea and China, but in Japan, we are seeing quite a few customers canceling their reservations.”

Japan was a highly closed market.

Mobile phones and automobiles are representative products of Korea.

However, it barely sold in Japan, and there were frequent cases of people trying to enter the market only to give up and return.

“We started without the Japanese market from the beginning, so it’s a miracle that we’re selling even this much.”

“Japan is the country with the least infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations. If you want to buy an Apple Car, you have to spend at least 4 million won more to buy a charger as well.”

“Well, if sales increase further in Japan, we will start an infrastructure construction project, but is there a need for that already? And the Japanese government doesn’t seem to have much interest in the electric vehicle infrastructure construction project, so there is no need for us to take the lead.”

Japan was recognized as the number one country in the automobile industry.

The number one company in automobile sales was also Japan, and there were more than three companies in the top ten.

Therefore, there was absolutely no reason to push the electric vehicle market, which was detrimental to domestic automobile companies.

“It’s a bit of a shame to abandon the Japanese market.”

“There is nothing we can do. What can we do if they say they are turning themselves into Galapagos? However, the market is not attractive enough for us to actively participate.”

“It is said that the current automobile group is almost giving up on the Japanese market.”

“At least the Apple Car with the Apple logo is selling well now.”

This is the end of the first report.

The planning director comes in every three hours to report.

Each time, sales continued to increase and sales were much higher than we expected.

And about 13 hours later.

The slope of the graph began to rise steeply.

“Sales have begun in North America. We were able to start sales quickly because we were preparing in advance.”

“The US DMV will be crowded.”

“Because you have to register your car at the DMV, the vehicle management office, there is naturally a lot of traffic. The problem is that unlike Korea, the US DMV is known to move slowly.”

“Well, that’s not something we need to worry about.”

Isn’t it possible to improve the car registration process in the United States?

All we had to do was build a good car and take care of the related infrastructure.

“If the current sales volume continues, we may sell more than 100,000 units within a week. Even if sales volume decreases slightly, we will likely surpass 100,000 units in 15 days.”

“That means the inventory we’ve built up over time will run out in 15 days.”

“We have already issued additional production orders. All automobile factories in Korea, China, and the United States will operate 24 hours a day. And some of GM’s factories are also ready to produce the Apple Car.”

In every business, net profit was important.

In the case of Apple Car, if you sell one unit, you will have a net profit of about $15,000.

Assuming that 100,000 units were sold per fortnight, a net profit of $1.5 billion could be made.

Of course, we had to take into account the money spent on infrastructure investment.

Even though the initial investment was still negative, the net profit was enough to make up for it within 1-2 years.

Moreover, it was an overwhelming net profit compared to internal combustion engine vehicles.

Internal combustion engine vehicles have a net profit of about $5,000 per vehicle at most, which is a three-fold difference.

In addition, since we were producing all the batteries that went into it, the profit amount was larger.

“It seems like customers who are loyal to Apple are making a lot of purchases in the beginning. There is a possibility that sales will decrease significantly over time. So please continue to release electric vehicles other than the Apple Car.”

“Starting mid-next year, a lineup of compact cars, trucks, and even mid-size sedans will be released.”

“Now that the electric vehicle infrastructure has been established, demand for other types of electric vehicles will also increase.”

As long as the infrastructure is properly built, there is no reason not to buy an electric car.

Fuel costs are much cheaper than internal combustion engines, and with tax benefits and subsidies, it is safe to say that the barrier to entry into electric vehicles has been broken down.

“I will stop listening to the Apple Car-related report today. Please call Taewoo Securities CEO Han Jeong-hoon.”

“I’m still waiting outside.”

The planning director and President Han touched the baton.

I could get a general idea of ​​the situation just by looking at the face of a president who entered the chairman’s office.

“It looks like Tesla’s response is pretty good, right?”

“I thought that interest might be lost because it was released on the same day as the Apple Car, but instead, a synergy effect occurred and we are recording high sales.”

“What is the expected sales volume per month?”

“It is likely to be more than 5,000 units at best. And annual sales volume is estimated to be more than 50,000 units.”

It was a very good result.

Uriah Apple was able to pump out initial volumes by leveraging the value of the Apple name and its factories located all over the world.

Tesla, which lacks all conditions compared to us, was able to sell 50,000 electric vehicles a year, an achievement that was difficult for anyone to predict.

“The short-sellers will be in a cold sweat.”

“But there is still some reason to believe. Even if we sell 50,000 units, the loss will amount to about $900 million.”

“It is rare for a startup to see a profit from the beginning. Individual investors are probably well aware of this fact. No matter how much the short-sellers talk about it, they will listen to it with only one ear.”

A company’s value focuses more on the future than the present.

It didn’t matter if they sold 50,000 units this year and recorded a loss of $900 million.

Stocks could be chosen by individual investors as long as they provided expectations of selling more vehicles and recording high profits in the future.

“Once a stock catches the wind, no one can stop it. No matter how much scientific evidence and objective data the short sellers provide, they cannot stop the stock that has caught the wind.”

“So, all we have to do is give Tesla stock a little boost to get above the wind.”

“The Saudi sovereign wealth fund is already moving without us taking action.”

A CEO opened Tesla’s stock chart.

Upon launch, the stock price was rising rapidly, and most of the stocks were being purchased by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

“It is not enough for the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to move alone.”

“We will contact the fintech bank. And we will also purchase stocks through the paper company we own.”

“You can also use Taewoo Securities’ funds. Wouldn’t it be nice to see at least one more place buying Tesla stocks so that individual investors wouldn’t go crazy?”

“Is it okay for Taewoo Securities to move? There is a lot of room to interpret this as a move that reflects the Chairman’s intentions.”

Taewoo Securities was also an affiliate of Taewo Group.

I, the chairman, couldn’t voluntarily make such a big move unless I gave permission.

Naturally, it was made to appear to the outside world that I had decided to buy Tesla stock.

“If Taewoo Securities moves, several other investment companies on Wall Street will also move along.”

“Even if you don’t know about other places, you can be sure that the Quantum Fund will definitely move.”

“The moment Taewoo Securities purchases Tesla stocks, the Quantum Fund will also move accordingly.”

George, CEO of Quantum Fund, observed my movements 24 hours a day.

He would watch what stocks I was investing in and follow them unconditionally.

If I had failed even once, the hit rate was 100%, so there was a very high possibility of that happening again this time.

“If the Quantum Fund moves, the short sellers will flinch.”

“Even if you hesitate and incur losses in the middle, you can reduce the damage by liquidating. But if you follow through to the end, you will fall to the very end of hell.”

Tesla has already proven its value through sales.

Of course, it may be a small number for existing automobile companies, but it is a very significant number in the new electric vehicle market.

Now all that remains is the choice of the short sellers.

Either quit here and minimize the damage, or hold on to the bomb until the end and commit self-destruction.

* * *

Quantum Fund had a separate team.

Taewoo Group’s dedicated management team.

The only thing that the team, consisting of eight elite members, did was follow the movements of the Taewo Group, or more precisely, Kim Min-jae.

“CEO! Taewoo Securities has started buying Tesla stocks.”

“Chairman Kim is finally making his move. He is not the type of person to sit still and watch such a good situation.”

“Representative, are you planning to move too?”

“Chairman Kim has moved, but isn’t it natural? Do you know what I felt while watching him for nearly 10 years?”

“Isn’t it the investment skill to get the timing right?”

“His investment skills are very good, but he has the ability to destroy the forces standing on the other side. And in this short selling, he chose Tesla as his ally. If the short selling forces do not retreat now, they will suffer the worst losses.”

Representative George said with a wry smile.

And he continued talking as if there was still more to say.

“And Chairman Kim never eats alone. He is a man who knows how to share delicious food with his allies. Of course, he will eat the most delicious parts.”

“Isn’t the same true for the short-selling forces? If we stick with the short-selling forces and win, wouldn’t we be able to gain more?”

“Tsk, tsk, isn’t this an opportunity to step on our competitors? Only by wiping out the short sellers will we be able to monopolize the pie.”

Everyone on Wall Street was a competitor.

It wasn’t just the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that wanted to kick the king of short selling.

In fact, Quantum Fund, who had been with him on Wall Street for a longer period of time, wanted to crush him even more.

“Then, let me buy Tesla stock.”

“Just buying it is not enough. The king of short selling is working hard to play the media. Shouldn’t I step in and stop him?”

“Do you plan to conduct a media interview yourself?”

“How difficult is it to go out to the press and say something? Please schedule an interview.”

An investor who won against the state.

The devil who moves the exchange rate with a single word.

CEO George, who has this title, was preparing a media play for Tesla.