Chapter 1682 Only You Can Fly

Hearing Li Mu criticize himself for being too focused, Elon Musk was somewhat embarrassed.

He has never felt that too much focus is a problem. In his mind, focus is easier to succeed.

Because focusing often means being more professional, just like focusing on recyclable launch vehicles and focusing on pure electric vehicles, in his perception, there is nothing wrong with doing so.

However, facing Li Mu, although he didn't quite approve of it in his heart, he didn't dare to show it.

He asked Li Mu very humbly: "Mr. Li, what do you mean?"

Li Mu said decisively: "Tesla's positioning should not be the second car for consumers, nor should it be a supplement to fuel vehicles. It should find a way to become the first choice for people who don't have a car, and a replacement model for those who have a car. ."

After speaking, Li Mu said again: "If you want to do this, in addition to preparing capacity reserves in advance, you must start now and find a way to solve the technical problem of fast charging."

Elon Musk is now positioning the Tesla sedan as a "fighter-like" way of using it.

That is to say, in theory, the battery life of this car can reach 400 kilometers, and the maximum activity radius of the user is 200 kilometers. Just like a fighter without the aid of a tanker, the method of calculating the combat radius is the same. Exceeding this activity radius basically means that there is no way to Go back to the starting point.

However, he does not think there is any problem with the combat radius of 200 kilometers, because in his opinion, 200 kilometers is enough.

However, he is really defining the 200 kilometers according to the standard of "the second car of the user". If we look at the standard of the first car or the only car, 200 kilometers is far from enough. Double It is also far from enough.

This is the misunderstanding of Elon Musk in the early days of Tesla.

He feels that Tesla's cost is very high, and it must be a mid-to-high-end model. For North American users who like to drive Japanese sedans or American pickups, most people can't afford it, but they can afford this car. For people who have at least one car at home, there may even be multiple cars.

In such a case, a "combat radius" of 200 kilometers is sufficient.

Moreover, the United States itself is a country that grows on wheels, and its car penetration rate ranks first in the world. They often travel across states by car, and they may go to Las Vegas, Disney, and several times a year. National parks, under such demand, if there is only one vehicle, the "combat radius" of 400 kilometers is not enough.

After all, the theoretical combat radius of a fuel vehicle is endless. It only takes five minutes to fill up a tank of fuel. It is impossible for a pure electric vehicle to compare.

Therefore, in his eyes, Tesla is not a product that needs to face all car users. It is already very powerful if it can eat the high-end user market.

But he didn't know how to tell Li Mu his opinion. He was afraid that Li Mu's position on this matter was too high, beyond the actual ability and significance of the matter itself.

Seeing Elon Musk's hesitant expression, Li Mu said earnestly, "Elon, let's do things together, you should stop thinking like an entrepreneur."

Elon Musk looked at Li Mu puzzled. Entrepreneurs don't have entrepreneurial thinking, so what kind of thinking do they have?

Li Mu looked at him and said, "In any industry, the vast majority of entrepreneurs are on the road barefoot. , to achieve 10 in ten years is a successful business, just like a Chinese saying, if you don’t make small steps, you can’t go a thousand miles.”

"However, others may need to take a step, do we need it? We can't walk, even run, we need to fly! So what we have to do is to spend money to buy a plane, we really can't build a rocket, Then fly as fast as you can."

After speaking, Li Mu paused for a moment, then added: "Remember, what we have to do is multiplication, not addition, even if we do not manage well, the entire project will eventually be multiplied by 0, or even multiplied by a negative number, I can accept it and bear the consequences. ,

But I can't accept our little additions. "

Elon Musk was slightly taken aback, understood what Li Mu said, and immediately said, "Mr. Li, I understand. Since this is the case, then we will start the research and development of high-power charging technology as soon as possible."

After speaking, he added: "My personal idea is to increase the charging efficiency to more than 20 kWh. In this case, the user's charging time will be greatly shortened, and a car can be fully charged within four to five hours."

Li Mu sighed and said: "The idea is right, but the ambition is not enough. If the charging equipment with a power of 100 kWh or even 200 kWh can be solved in the future, so that a Tesla can be fully charged in about an hour, Or add 80% of the power, then it’s really not far from Dacheng.”

Elon Musk said in surprise: "In this case, we not only have to develop fast charging technology, but also make substantial optimization adjustments in the management of battery packs, and the charging efficiency of more than 100 kWh is too heavy for the grid load. Big, if several 1 million hour charging piles operate at the same time, the power can be equivalent to the electricity used by a community of several hundred people, so it is difficult to lay them in large quantities.”

Li Mu said with a smile: "Since we have installed ordinary power charging piles for users, why do we need to build high-power charging equipment in places like the community?"

After speaking, Li Mu added: "High-power charging equipment is not for users to use when they go home to rest, it is like a gas station, it is to replenish energy for users in the middle, and they are built on highways and in hotels. , airports, near stations, or even on popular tourist attractions far away from the city.”

Elon Musk said: "I understand what you mean, but the power supply of such high-power charging piles is indeed a big problem, and the problem of the grid alone is difficult to solve."

Li Mu said with a smile: "Actually, it's not difficult to solve at all. Let the power company solve the problem of the power grid. We only need to make the power company profitable, and you don't have to worry about the rest."

"For example, Huaxia's electricity price is 40 cents per kilowatt-hour, and we can charge the car owner a fee of 1 yuan per kilowatt-hour, because it is a super charging station that can quickly extend the battery life in the middle, plus the additional super charging station. The cost, the user can definitely accept this price. For this money, we can not earn a penny in the early stage and give it all to the power company. This is equivalent to giving them an outlet to sell electricity at a high price. Why not? for?"

We can use our project to go to him and ask for subsidies from the California government. "

Elon Musk sighed: "In this way, the problem of the power grid is really easy to solve, but Mr. Li, the research and development, manufacturing and installation costs of super charging equipment should not be too low. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of such equipment, but the difference in electricity price is given to the power company, and we have no profit ourselves, such a high cost, no profit, and equipment maintenance, it is difficult for us to support.”

Li Mu reminded: "The purpose of giving the electricity price difference to the power company is to encourage them to help us solve the power supply problem. As I said just now, we give them all the price difference in the early stage, but in the middle and late stage, we need to gradually get a certain percentage back."

"Don't forget, green travel, energy saving and emission reduction are trends that governments around the world respect. We can communicate with local governments to get some policy subsidies and support."

"If nothing else, let's say California. Schwarzenegger is about to take office as governor. Before he was elected, he has been vigorously calling for environmental issues. Our products are in his favor."

“We can strive for the state government to give us a certain subsidy to every user who buys a Tesla in California, and we can also ask the state government to give us a certain tax cut, and even allow the state government to exempt the consumption tax and public consumption of electricity from superchargers. Business tax; we can also outsource the construction and maintenance of charging piles to a company in California, and then help this company win state government tax breaks, so that we can reduce our costs across the board, and It's perfectly reasonable and legal."

There were various subsidies for new energy in the past life. Although Li Mu was not directly engaged in the new energy vehicle industry, he also learned a lot in Yanjing.

The country and the government really attach great importance to environmental protection, so they will give various subsidies to new energy vehicles, subsidies to manufacturers, subsidies to consumers, and even reduction or exemption of purchase tax. Li Mu believes that this is not only China, but also a global one. This trend, now, Tesla wants to walk in the forefront of the new energy industry, and should strive for subsidies and help from local governments, so that Tesla can take off more quickly.

Elon Musk's eyes lit up by what Li Mu said. People like chicken thieves never imagined that there is an invisible super-lever behind Tesla, which can leverage huge social resources, but only if the special Sla must develop fast and well, otherwise once other companies realize this super-leverage, they will swarm desperately.

Li Mu continued to point him: "I don't care what kind of model you are currently researching, whether it is ultra-high-end or mid-to-high-end, you must thoroughly understand the technology you need and then reduce dimensions reasonably, such as your battery, Your motor, your frame and chassis, your electronic control and all electronic systems, first achieve 80 points, and then don't go from 80 points to 100 points, but from 80 points to 60 points Do."

"We need to lower the technical threshold and cost, so as to reduce the parameters and price of the entire car, from ultra-high-end, to high-end, mid-to-high-end, and then to mid-range, if we can build a car that is about the same price and comfort level as the Camry The car is about the same price as a Camry, so we all win while lying down.”

Elon Musk nodded again and again: "Mr. Li, I understand what you mean."

Li Mu sighed and said, "About next year, I will start to acquire one or two car manufacturing companies in China, and then completely remodel the production line according to Tesla's needs. In the future, once our car passes the test, it can be put into operation immediately. mass production."