The video conference was not long, only dozens of minutes.
The three leaders reported each other's situation. Martin and Bertram, the president of Thunder God Technology, told Director Akland in a worried tone that plasma batteries had great potential in both military and civilian fields.
At the same time, Director Akland also told them a piece of news that could not be obtained from normal channels.
Monster Industries was collecting the rare metal element dysprosium everywhere. Because of their actions, Hua Xia's dysprosium was already very tight. In the coming days, the market price of dysprosium would definitely increase significantly.
Dysprosium?
Tesla's CEO, Martin, was no stranger to this metal. Director Akland was tactfully telling them two points. If their company also needed this metal, they should quickly increase the inventory in advance.
In addition, dysprosium was definitely one of the important raw materials for plasma batteries.
Martin was an expert in batteries. It knew that dysprosium was indeed needed in some special batteries. However, the amount added would not be too much. It would only play a catalytic role in the material.
In fact, it was not difficult to determine the material type of the Thunder Battery.
A few samples of the liquid energy storage material inside could be taken, and all the material components in the liquid material could be analyzed using powerful accelerator mass spectrometry detection technology and spectral detection technology.
In fact, this test had already been done. Tesla quietly bought four Thunder Sample Vehicles and shipped them to the headquarters. The plasma battery of one of them was violently dismantled and taken for analysis.
However, the analysis results made Martin and the technical team fall into an inextricable doubt.
Those materials covered the three major elements of metal, non-metal, and chemistry. These materials had different melting points, and their reactions under normal temperature were also different. But in the end, what appeared in front of Martin was a plasma battery that had turned into a liquid and was extremely stable in a normal temperature environment.
Tesla was currently one step ahead of others and was carrying out the imitation work of the battery. It was just that the technicians collected these materials together. No matter what technology was used to process it, it could only be a piece of solid metal.
It could not even store electricity …
Martin understood that Tesla was facing the biggest crisis in history.
Not to mention the plasma battery, even a smart assistant could beat them.
This feeling was indescribably terrible. It was like an invincible cowboy who had been roaming the West for many years was suddenly shot down by a nameless junior.
He didn't even have the chance to pull out his gun, and the beautiful and hot girls around him were all snatched away.
He was frustrated, depressed, aggrieved, angry, and helpless.
They had been focusing on electric vehicles for 20 years, but what about Monster Industries?
He had only developed it in passing.
Every time he thought of the sales report submitted by the president of Hua Xia last week, Martin had the urge to challenge the president of Monster Industries to a duel.
Last month, Tesla's monthly sales in Hua Xia dropped by 80% from the previous thousands.
Hua Xia was not Tesla's main battlefield, but it was the high-quality potential market that Tesla valued the most. This could be seen from the steady increase in sales in the past.
As Hua Xia became more and more strict with the control of the number of gasoline-powered vehicles, Tesla had optimistically predicted that in the next three years, the Tesla market in Hua Xia would increase by 400% and become Tesla's largest overseas market base.
Now, this beautiful dream was like a beautiful soap bubble in the face of the ruthless reality, bursting with a "pop" sound.
After the meeting, Martin's mood could not calm down for a long time. They had not developed any clues yet, and Monster Industries was going to launch a remote driving function?
Laymen did not understand the significance of this function, but Martin could see it and was deeply afraid.
Thinking of this, Martin picked up the phone with some annoyance and called the president of Hua Xia, Gabler.
It should be ten o 'clock at night in Hua Xia, and Martin knew that the other party was definitely not asleep. Sure enough, the call was connected before the third "hold" tone sounded.
"Boss, what are your orders?"
"Do you have any more information about the Thunderbolt car's remote driving function?"
"Boss, right now, Hua Xia's technology news and the Internet are mostly negative. Many people think that this function is a bit useless, and that it cannot be implemented technically. " The president of Hua Xia, Gabler's voice was very energetic. At the same time, he did not care about this function and thought that it was a publicity stunt.
"Tell me what you think." Martin leaned on the chair, and his tone was a bit erratic.
"I don't think that this function is very good either. Boss, didn't we previously research an upgraded version of assisted driving — automatic driving? Although we haven't developed this function yet, our Tesla car's assisted driving function has always been the best in the world before Blitz appeared. "
"Right now, the Thunderbolt car's remote driving function is more like a compromised version of automatic driving. They don't have the technology to move all the electronic hardware required for automatic driving to the Thunderbolt car. They're using a remote connection to solve the problem. "
"Then, what do you think about the market prospects of remote driving?" Martin continued to ask.
"Personally, I don't think the prospects are very bright. Because at the moment, Monster Industries is charging for this function based on mileage. Who would waste money to save time driving after buying a car? At most, everyone would try out this novel function, and then realize that it's not practical. They would quickly ignore it and complain about it. "
"If they have the energy, why don't they use it to develop automatic driving? It's the AI assistant that gives me a huge sense of crisis. "
"Haha." Martin sat up straight again, but there was a trace of regret in his smile. "Gabler, your judgment disappointed me. Is it the sales that are dropping like a cliff that has blinded your eyes? "
"In my opinion, remote driving is a great invention that can be compared to smartphones."
"If it can be realized."
The president of Hua Xia, Gabler, quickly lowered his posture and listened to Martin's words.
"You have to understand that autonomous driving and remote driving are two completely unrelated technologies. The former is for drivers to slack off. Whether or not it has this function doesn't affect the driving experience. "
"The latter, remote driving, is actually for potential consumers who don't have a driver's license."
"Let me ask you, how many people in Hua Xia have a driver's license?"
"Three hundred million," Gabler said without hesitation.
"That's where the problem lies. There are more than three hundred million people in the United States, and more than two hundred million people have a driver's license. But Hua Xia has 1.4 billion people, and less than three hundred million people have a driver's license. There are another 1.1 billion people who don't have a driver's license. "
Martin's voice became ethereal again. "In the United States, nine out of ten people over the age of sixty have a driver's license. The remaining one hundred million people who don't have a license are mostly minors. "
"But in Hua Xia, out of a hundred people over the age of fifty, at most ten have a driver's license."
"My dear Mr. Gabler, what do you think about the purchasing power of these middle-aged people in Hua Xia?"
"Strong …"
"Not just a little strong."
Gabler said in admiration, "Auntie Hua Xia's ability to buy and buy is world-famous. Sixty percent of the young people in Hua Xia buy cars with their parents. It's the same for buying houses."
Martin agreed and said, "That's why I said that the concept of remote driving is no less than a smartphone."
"The core of remote driving is that Monster Industries will take on the responsibility of being a 'driver' and provide protection for those people who don't have a license. As long as the Hua Xia government approves this project, Monster Industries will be able to take advantage of a brand new, never-before-explored, huge, blank market. "
"I … I understand, Boss."
The voice of Gabler, the CEO of Hua Xia, was trembling with fear. "Once this function comes out, those people who don't have a driver's license and would never consider buying a car before will have the opportunity to buy a car. Monster Industries will transition from a long-range professional driver to a long-range supercomputer driver. This is the most perfect solution without increasing the cost of buying a car. "
"That's right."
Martin paused for a moment and sighed. "The price of a Thunderbolt car with a supercomputer is destined to be missed by 99% of consumers. It will become a toy for the rich. Moreover, it will take up a lot of space in the car and consume more energy than the car can drive. "
"Those old people in Hua Xia who might not even know how to use a smartphone will never be able to play with a supercomputer."
"The ambition of Monster Industries is unimaginable. They don't plan to make toys. They want to change the way Hua Xia's people travel. They've set their target on a huge, blank market that none of us have thought of or dared to imagine."
Martin hit the nail on the head and exposed the core elements that countless people couldn't see clearly. "Remote driving not only solves the problem of cost, but also completely solves the concerns of consumers. Because if there's a traffic accident, it will always be the responsibility of Monster Industries, and Monster Industries will pay the bill. "
"I pray that they won't be able to do this project in twenty years. I also pray that Hua Xia's transportation department will take their lazy policy to the extreme and never approve this project! "Gabler sincerely begged.
"I also hope …" Martin let out a long sigh. "Let's not talk about this for now. How are Tesla's sales in Hua Xia so far?"
"B … Boss, didn't … didn't I just submit the sales report last week?"
"I want to know the new data for this week after the sales report."
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