My Age of Investment

"Mubadala Investment Company, $20 billion."

“Waterfall investment, $10 billion.”

"Temasek Holdings, US$5 billion."

"Rockefeller Corporation, Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and other institutions, $4 billion."

"Stanford University Endowment, $2 billion."

"Puppy Family Office, $1 billion."

"The Friedrich Family Trust, $300 million."

…

After keeping each institutional LP and its corresponding fund subscription shares firmly in mind, Xia Jingxing gently closed the "heavy" "gift list" in his hand.

After months of suspension and wrangling, the latest flagship hedge fund launched by Vision Capital finally closed its doors for the first time today.

The first closing is also called the first delivery.

As the name suggests, each institution transfers the first batch of subscribed capital contributions to the fund investment account opened by Vision Capital in the bank.

With Mixiaguo, the fund managers of Vision Capital will now have to fight in the secondary trading markets of major countries around the world.

It has a battle-tested trading team, and Xia Jingxing no longer needs to worry too much about the details of investment.

His current main job is to "make more friends and build good relationships."

Like the giant hedge fund recently raised by Vision Capital with an amount of up to 60 billion US dollars, all investment shares come from various "related parties".

For example, Mubadala and Temasek Holdings are the partners that Xia Jingxing needs to take care of most at the moment.

It has been two years since the two institutions invested in Xinxin Group. Not only did they not get any returns, they actually made billions of dollars in losses on their books.

As a caring strategic partner, Xia Jingxing naturally has the obligation to help the two organizations to save some blood - after making money, he can continue to fill the big hole of Xinxin Group.

In addition to these two institutions and China Investment Group, the main LPs of Vision Capital are from the local gangs in the United States.

There is no need to elaborate on the reasons. The encounter that happened some time ago has already explained everything. The American's food appearance is only slightly better than that of the third brother.

If you want to stay in the United States for a few more years, you cannot do without the help of these local cowards.

After reviewing and analyzing carefully in his mind and making sure that there were no omissions, Xia Jingxing relaxed and looked through the plane window to the blue sky and white clouds outside the window.

Seeing that Xia Jingxing had finally finished the work at hand and started to drift into a daze, Tesla's chief engineer, or rather former chief engineer Peter Rawlinson, who was sitting not far away, stood up.

He walked up to Xia Jingxing in two steps. After finding an empty seat and sitting down, he said with a rather reserved look, "Darren, I want to talk to you."

"Okay, I just want to chat with you, a great engineer. What would you like to drink?"

"Coffee...forget it, let's drink tea."

Peter Rawlinson originally wanted to drink coffee, but he suddenly remembered that his boss was Chinese and the plane was also heading to China, so he changed his mind instantly.

Xia Jingxing waved to Liu Xiaoduo, and after giving a few casual instructions, he started chatting with Peter Rawlinson.

"You don't have to be so anxious to decide to resign. I originally wanted to invite you to a factory in China for an on-site visit..."

Before Xia Jingxing could finish his words, Peter Rawlinson shook his head and interrupted: "No, Darren, regardless of whether this inspection trip satisfies me or not, I am leaving Tesla."

Xia Jingxing wanted to ask about the reason, but at this critical moment Liu Xiaoduo suddenly came over with two cups of tea and interrupted the conversation between the two.

The two had no choice but to sip tea quietly.

After a while, Xia Jingxing broke the calm and said slowly: "That Straubel guy is more stubborn. Maybe there is some misunderstanding between you two?"

Peter Rawlinson let out a long sigh, as if he had made some important decision, and said with a solemn expression: "Straubel is a very nice person, a competent CEO, and an ideal partner. The relationship between me and him There are no contradictions, just some differences in ideas.

To be more precise, I am no longer suitable to stay at Tesla. "

Xia Jingxing was a little stunned, and then asked: "Why? Didn't you regard Tesla as a dream company before?"

Peter Rawlinson was silent for a few seconds and said with a wry smile: "That was before, but everything has changed now.

After Tesla builds the Model S and Model X, the next step will be to launch a more affordable model.

I have no intention of commenting on the right or wrong of this move, but personally, I still hope that Tesla will continue to take the high-end and performance route. "

"oh……"

Xia Jingxing understood instantly. This guy disliked Tesla for becoming less and less competent.

But then again, can this thing be used as food? How many dollars per pound?

If Tesla does not sink into the market and gain more customer favor, it will never be able to become a giant in the automotive industry. It will be nothing more than a rich man's toy.

However, Peter Rawlinson is not without merit, and some of his ideas still have merit.

After all, cars sometimes require style and brand influence to add halo. Otherwise, how can we cut leeks? Are users not allowed to pay for their dreams?

Tesla has already delivered the Roadster and Model S, and the Model X is about to be delivered. Based on the foundation laid by these three models, Tesla has a certain degree of popularity and brand value. It just needs to be consolidated and strengthened on this basis.

Fuxing Automobile is different. Let alone European and American countries, it has no reputation even in China. It is just a pink and tender newcomer in the industry. It needs to launch a few models to establish its own style. Make a name for yourself.

In this regard, Peter Rawlinson is good at it. He has been employed by well-known companies such as Jaguar and Lotus Sports Cars. He has rich experience in the design and manufacturing of high-end fuel vehicles. In addition, he led the team to build the Model S, which is regarded as a new model in the new era. It has tried its best in the field of energy vehicles, and has received a lot of praise from the industry.

In his previous life, he joined Atieva after leaving Tesla. When BAIC and Jia Accounting both divested their capital and ran away, this guy stood up to the pressure and fought back. With Lucid Motors' high-end and classy design concept, he took over the Saudi tycoon. I was fooled and came over to take the order.

Although the oil tycoons have a lot of money, they are not stupid. They have always been known around the world as ideal investors who respect technology the most. Rabbit can testify to this.

Atieva, which was renamed Lucid Motors in its previous life, is developing quite well under the leadership of Peter Rawlinson. Although the delivery volume is not high, it is at least ten Hengchi cars better than Faraday Future.

Unfortunately, this company has the same problems as Tesla in its early stages of development, that is, it has huge flaws in supply chain, production capacity, cost, etc. Later, just to make the blogger dad laugh, he actually planned to run Saudi Arabia builds factory...

If Lucid Motors embraced the Chinese market as aggressively as Tesla did, maybe the above problems would have been solved long ago, and it would not have been trapped in a vicious circle in the future - the technical performance and indicators of the car are getting better and better, but the car is It cannot be sold, and many potential markets, such as Chinese consumers, do not even know that such a car exists.

The reason why Xia Jingxing planned to bring Peter Rawlinson to China was to take advantage of this guy's talent in the field of automobile design and research, especially in the field of three electrics. This guy was simply a lunatic, pursuing motors and electronics like crazy. The ultimate performance of the control and battery has even reached the point where it is too much and not enough...

To a certain extent, Peter Rawlinson is a good engineer and a good chief technology officer, but he is by no means a good CEO. He is too bad at doing business.

If we use the concept of building a top sports car to build a new energy vehicle, wouldn’t that be following Boss Jia’s evil path?

This is a shortcoming and needs to be corrected! It must be changed!

So Xia Jingxing decided to talk to this guy carefully. If he wants to pursue the ultimate technology of the three-power system, he can provide you with R\u0026D funds and a laboratory.

But when each new technology is almost conquered, it has to go out of the laboratory, install it into a new car and launch it on the market, and accept testing by users.

How can we really build a car to the extreme and perfect it before launching it? Doesn’t that leave no room for users to upgrade? Is there anyone doing this business?

"Peter, do you know anything about Fuxing Motors?"

Hearing Xia Jingxing's words, Peter Rawlinson was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and smiled: "I haven't even seen what this car really looks like, let alone understand it."

"Then let me give you a brief introduction. Fuxing Motor is a sub-group of Fuxing Industrial Holdings. It owns three automobile brands: Fuxing, Baojun and Wuling.

Baojun and Wuling are currently making efforts in the field of fuel vehicles, and they are low-end brands, so we will not discuss them for the time being.

Let’s talk about Fuxing Auto alone. My expectations for it are that it is high-end, smart, and has ultimate performance and driving experience that surpasses all its peers. "

Every time Xia Jingxing said a word, Peter Rawlinson's eyes lit up. What a coincidence. Isn't this the dream car that he has longed for?

"Darren, do you want to make Fuxing Motors a cooler and higher-end car than Tesla?"

Peter Rawlinson rubbed his hands excitedly, his tone was a little excited, and he had higher expectations for the next trip to China.

But Xia Jingxing soon poured cold water on him, "No, why should Tesla be used as a benchmark company? Fuxing Automobile does not benchmark against it."

Peter Rawlinson was completely confused after hearing this. He thought to himself, "Aren't you going to build a high-end car?"

Next, Xia Jingxing's words rekindled his hope, "The real targets that Fuxing Automobile has to compete with are Porsche and Mercedes-Benz."

"Um...Darren, when Tesla was first launched, I remember it was also competing against Porsche and Mercedes-Benz..."

Peter Rawlinson didn't finish what he said. He still had half of the sentence "You were still dealing with porcelain people at that time." He could only complain silently in his heart.

Xia Jingxing smiled unconcernedly, and then said confidently: "Tesla is taking the "Popular Route", while Fuxing Motors is taking the "Mercedes-Benz Route." I can guarantee you this, absolutely. Will not waver.

You may be worried that I am reluctant to make profits in the mid- to low-end car market, but Fuxing Auto Group has more than one brand of Fuxing Auto. "

Peter Rawlinson reacted instantly. He was planning to implement a multi-brand strategy!

He thought about this matter carefully and realized that it might as well be a coup, which could not only ensure the purity and style of the revived car brand, but also cover the entire car market at other price points.

"The journey of Fuxing Industrial has not been easy. It took a lot of effort to use mobile phones, tablets and other products to leave a little bit of high-end brand recognition and impression in the hearts of European and American users. I will never do it casually and damage my own sign. of things.”

Peter Rawlinson nodded slightly, acknowledging Xia Jingxing's statement. At the same time, he also realized that it seemed much easier for Fuxing Auto to go overseas than other Chinese companies. After all, it had already gained a certain reputation in the European and American world, so it was not an absolute new player.

"The impression made in China on European and American users has always been that the price is low. As for the quality, it is average, and some are even inferior."

"Actually, it's not bad. For example, I don't have a bad impression of products made in China. After all, you get what you pay for..." Peter Rawlinson comforted.

Xia Jingxing smiled and waved his hands: "You don't have to say nice things, I still don't know what Chinese brands look like in the eyes of foreigners?

Fuxing Mobile was lucky enough to catch up with the mobile phone industry revolution and get a ticket to the smartphone era, so it barely managed to be looked upon favorably by foreign users.

Moreover, compared with cars, mobile phones are considered cheap gadgets, so even if they are deceived, the loss will not be too serious.

But cars are completely different. As an industry with a century-old history and a rich and diverse car culture, users in European and American countries have formed a deep-rooted impression that good cars must be produced locally in Europe and the United States.

Not to mention Chinese cars, Japanese and Korean cars that have achieved very high achievements are also synonymous with grocery carts and bargains in the eyes of European and American people.

If Chinese automobiles want to reverse or even break this bad impression, they must exert great efforts.

Tesla can easily gain recognition in the European and American markets. If the same thing happens to Fuxing Auto, Fuxing Auto will need to show far superior technology and car manufacturing levels than Tesla. "

Seeing that Peter Rawlinson was silent, Xia Jingxing smiled and said, "Sounds difficult, doesn't it?"

Xia Jingxing asked himself and answered: "It is indeed difficult! Because China was too backward in the past! It is no longer the country with exquisite craftsmanship, rich in porcelain and silk, which made countless Westerners look up to it."

Speaking of this, Xia Jingxing changed the subject and said: "Originally there was no chance to catch up, but like the smartphone revolution, the new energy vehicle revolution gave Chinese companies a ticket to the next automobile era.

What I have to do is live up to this ticket and build a car that is truly recognized by users around the world.

I know you are a car-building fanatic and hope to build a car that will shock your peers in the industry and the world.

In this regard, we have something in common.

When you join Fuxing Automobile, it is equivalent to accepting a hard job that is ten times more difficult than the original task.

If it doesn’t succeed, naturally nothing will be mentioned.

But once you succeed, you will be recognized as the king of new energy vehicles.

Think about it, you have achieved world-renowned success in a backward country known as a desert of automobile culture. Is it more admirable than other colleagues who have achieved achievements standing on the shoulders of European and American automobile manufacturing powers?

For the success of others, everyone will naturally attribute everything to the car manufacturers and the countries standing behind them.

Only you, when Fuxing Motors truly succeeds in the world, they will say: Look, that guy named Peter Rawlinson changed the structure of the world's automobile industry. With his help, the Chinese can actually build cars. "

"Haha, Darren, you praise me too highly! However, I like this challenging task."

Peter Rawlinson looked at Xia Jingxing with a smile on his face and said, "But I also want to remind you that while there are challenges, it also means a lot of investment and enough patience."

"On this point, you can rest assured. There is an old saying in China that "the emperor never lacks hungry soldiers."

How much money Tesla invests in R\u0026D, I will invest ten times the R\u0026D funds, and no external financing is required. "

With a huge sum of US$32 billion just brought back from the United States in his pocket, Xia Jingxing spoke with great confidence.

The money is mainly composed of three parts. The first is the US$27 billion in fund dividends from the liquidation of the Vision Capital hedge fund; the second is the cash acquisition of Android paid by Facebook, amounting to US$3.76 billion; the last part is It was Friedrich and his group of friends who paid for the equity acquisition of Vision Homes. The amount was only a small amount, only 1.2 billion US dollars.

It should also be noted that after selling 60% of the shares, Xia Jingxing still holds 20% of the shares of Vision Home Company, ranking as the company's second largest shareholder.

The Friedrich family has become the company's largest shareholder, holding more than half of the shares.

Peter Rawlinson laughed, "Ten times the investment is not enough, as long as it is not less than Tesla's investment."

A faint smile appeared on Xia Jingxing's face. Currently, Tesla has only burned a few dollars, a few hundred million dollars, and the most difficult moment has not really come yet.

However, he will not invest money in Tesla easily in the future. Firstly, Tesla has already been listed and has abundant financing channels, and he does not need to provide blood; secondly, his shareholding ratio is really too high. If it is a little higher, then it should be lowered a little, and some powerful partners should be introduced. Only if it lasts for a while can it be in line with the investment principle of maximizing profits.

"Okay, Darren, no more questions from my end, I want to see a prototype as soon as possible."

"Okay, you wait for me to make arrangements, and we get off the plane and go straight to the testing site to see the car."

“That’s great, I just love the productivity.”

"Then you accepted my invitation?"

Peter Rawlinson handed over his hand with a smile on his face, shook hands with Xia Jingxing, and said: "Yes, you successfully convinced me! I thought about it, and I'm afraid you are the only one in the world who understands new energy vehicles, and Only a boss who is willing to invest in the long term will support my outrageous ideas.

I am no longer young, but I have yet to leave my own mark on the history of automobile development. I hope I can make a breakthrough in the last period of my career. "

"You are so ambitious! Then I wish you success as soon as possible! I should say I wish us all success as soon as possible!"

"Haha, let's work together."

…