Chapter 692: A needle can see through the blood.
The period of the videoconference was not long, it was only a few tens of minutes. During which the three giants mutually exchanged information on the situation. Martin and Raytheon Technology President Bertram told Director Aklan in a worried tone that plasma batteries had great potential in the military and civilian fields. At the same time, Chief Aklan also gave them information that could be unobtained through normal channels.
The Huge Industrial Monster has collected the rare element metallic Dysprosium from all over. And due to their actions, the amount of Dysprosium metal in the Chinese market has been greatly reduced. Going forward, the market price of Dysprosium Metal will definitely increase significantly.
Metallic dysprosium?
Tesla CEO Martin was no stranger to this metal. Director Aklan euphemistically told them two points: "If their company also needs this metal, they must quickly increase their inventory in advance. In addition, Dysprosium metal must be one of the important raw materials for their plasma batteries."
Martin was a battery expert and knew that in some special batteries Dysprosium metal is really needed. But this amount of addition is not excessive, it simply acts as a catalyst in the material.
……
In fact, it is not difficult to determine the material type of the Shi Lei battery. Take a few samples of the liquid energy storage material inside the battery and use the powerful mass spectrometry detection technology and spectral detection technology to analyze all components of the liquid material.
……
In fact, this test has already been done by Tesla, since it quietly purchased four samples of the Shi Lei car and shipped their batteries to headquarters. The plasma battery of one of them was violently dismantled and used for analysis. However, the results of the analysis left Martin and the technical team in inextricable doubts.
These materials covered the three main elements metallics, non-metallic and chemical. These substances have different melting points and different reactions at room temperature. But what finally appeared in front of Martin was a plasma battery that turned to liquid and was extremely stable at room temperature.
Tesla already had a head start and had made the battery imitation. It was just that the technicians after gathering these materials, and regardless of the technology used to process them, the result found showed their combination can only be solid metal. It can't even store electricity...
Martin understood Tesla was in the greatest crisis in history. Not to mention the plasma battery, even a little smart assistant can hook them. This kind of feeling was indescribable in words, like an invincible cowboy who has been in the West for many years, suddenly one day he was shot by an unknown junior. He didn't even get a chance to draw his gun, and the hot beautiful girls around him were also robbed.
Martin was mad, depressed, wronged, angry, and helpless. It has been focused on the electric vehicle field for 20 years, but what about the Huge Industrial Monster?
People just did research. Whenever he thought of the sales report presented by the China District President last week, Martin had the impulse to duel with the head of the Huge Industrial Monster. Last month, Tesla's monthly sales in China fell 80% from the thousands of vehicles previously sold. China was not Tesla's main battleground, but it was the potential high-quality market that Tesla valued the most, as evidenced by the steady increase in sales in the past.
With the tightest control of the number of fuel vehicles in major Chinese cities, Tesla had made optimistic market estimates that in the next three years, Tesla's Chinese market will grow by 400%, becoming the largest overseas market base for Tesla.
Now, in the face of unforgiving reality, this beautiful dream is like a beautiful soap bubble, burst with a bang.
After the meeting, Martin could not calm down for a long time. He hasn't found any clues yet, and the Huge Industrial Monster will revive the remote driving function?
The layman does not understand the meaning of this function, but Martin can see it and is deeply terrified. Thinking about that, he picked up the phone with a bit of annoyance and called Gabler, the China region president. It must have been ten o'clock at night on China's side, and Martin knew the other party must not be sleeping. Sure enough, the call was connected before the third call waiting tone sounded.
"Boss, what are your orders?"
"Do you have any other news about the remote driving function of the Shi Lei car?"
"Boss, most Chinese and Internet technology news is unoptimistic. Many people think that this function is a bit tasteless, and it is technically impossible to achieve." China District Chairman Gabler's voice was very spirited, but he also ignored the feature and considered it a publicity stunt.
"Say your own opinion," Martin leaned back in the chair, his tone a bit erratic.
"I'm not too optimistic about this function, and boss, haven't we also studied the upgraded version of automatic driving for assisted driving before? Although we haven't successfully developed this function yet, the assisted driving function of the Tesla car. In the past, it has always been the number one in the world."
"Now the remote driving developed by Shi Lei Automobile, I think it's a compromised version of automatic driving. They have no technology and transferred all the electronic equipment needed for automatic driving to the Shi Lei car. The problem is solved by a remote connection in a disguised form."
"What do you think of the remote driving market prospects?" Martin continued.
"~ I personally think the future is very uncertain because, at present, Huge Industrial Monster adopts a mileage billing system to try this function. Who will buy a car and waste money to save time to be driven? Everyone should experience this novelty to the fullest. After that, he said it was inconvenient, and he left it and complained loudly. If you have this function, you better study driving automatically. It's the smart assistant that makes me feel a great sense of crisis."
"Haha~" Martin straightened up, but there was a hint of regret in his smile: "Gabler, your judgment disappoints me. Did sales drop like a cliff that blinded you? ~ Distance driving is a great technology that can be compared to Smartphones."
"If it can be achieved."
Gabler, the China region president, quickly lowered his stance and listened to Martin's words.
"You must understand that autonomous driving and remote driving are two technologies that are unrelated at all. The first is for the driver to be lazy. The presence or absence of this function does not affect the driving experience."
"This latest driving distance is actually aimed at potential consumers who don't have a driver's license."
"I ask you how many people have a driving license in China?"
"Three hundred million," Gabler said without hesitation:
"That's the problem. There are over 300 million people in the United States, and over 200 million people have driver's licenses. But China has 1.4 billion people, only 300 million of them with a driver's license and 1.1 billion without a driver's license," Martin's voice became erratic again: "In the United States, nine out of ten people over the age of sixty hold a driver's license. Most of the remaining 100 million people without permits are minors. But in China, only ten out of a hundred fifty-year-olds have a driver's license."
"Dear Mr. Gabler, what do you think is the purchasing power of these middle-aged and elderly people in China?"
"Strong..."
"Not ordinarily strong," Gabler said confidently: "The Chinese aunt's buying ability is world-famous. Chinese young people buy cars, six of which are paid for by their parents, and the same goes for buying a house."
Martin hummed in agreement: "That's why the concept of remote driving is nothing less than a Smartphone."
"The heart of remote driving is the Huge Industrial Monster that takes on the responsibility of the 'driver' to ensure the protection of these undocumented people. When the government of China approves this project, this brand new and huge virgin market which has never been opened will be occupied by the Huge Industrial Monster."
"I... I understand, boss."
China region chairman Gabler's voice was already shaking with a hint of fear: "As soon as this feature comes out, those who didn't have a driver's license and never considered buying a car before will also have the opportunity to buy a car. The Huge Industrial Monster will switch from remote professional driver to remote computer driving. She just wants to find the most perfect solution without increasing the cost of buying the car."
"It's true."
Martin paused and sighed: "The price of a Shi Lei car with its own class computer is intended to be accessible to 99% of consumers and to become a toy for the rich."
"The elderly population in China who can't even afford a Smartphone makes it even more impossible to afford a car."
"The ambition of the Huge Industrial Monster is unimaginable. They don't plan to make toys. They want to change the way Chinese people travel. It's unimaginable in a huge virgin market."
Martin pointed out the essentials that countless people cannot see clearly: "Remote driving not only solves the cost problem but also completely solves consumer concerns. The accident will still be Huge Industrial Monster's responsibility, and it will be paid by Huge Industrial Monster."
"I pray they won't be able to complete this project in 20 years. I also pray the transportation department of China will put the wheels in the wheels so that the project will never be approved if the politicians are pushed to the extreme!" Gabler begged fervently.
"I also hope..." Martin sighed for a long time: "Let's not talk about that, how are our Tesla sales in China now? Last week? I want to know the new data from this week's sales report."
"One by one," Gabler said in a sad tone: "In fact, last month we were able to sell 200 vehicles, all of which were customers who had paid a 50% deposit and could not request a refund. This week, we have no new order..."
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