Chapter 2086 Not Optimistic

While Eberhard ordered people to lock up the laboratory, which had become empty and looked a little messy, but could be said to have witnessed another historical moment for Tesla, he called the bar.

At this time, it is obvious that no suitable place can be found near the park.

"Feng, we can only go to San Francisco." After making a few calls, he caught up with Feng Yiping, who was hooking up with Musk.

"Then go to San Francisco, have a good drink tonight, and have a day off tomorrow!"

"Yeah!" This group of mechanical and electrical engineers, who now looked almost as unkempt as the computer engineers from other companies in the park, shouted excitedly.

They are not necessarily happy for the holiday. After working hard for so long, they finally have results. They also need to vent the depression and anxiety they have felt for such a long time.

Such loud noise caused people to look down from the windows of other companies in the park.

At this time, NEXTDOOR Park felt like a university campus. The lights in the room were all on. From the windows, I could see people moving inside, but I couldn't hear any sounds.

On the sports field downstairs, there were a few barefoot guys playing football, surrounded by many colleagues wearing T-shirts and eating baked pies.

Not to mention it was after ten o'clock, even at three or four o'clock in the morning, the situation was almost the same.

This is Silicon Valley, work hard and have fun.

They can stay in the office for several days in a row and only sleep three or four hours a day in order to complete their work. Or they can be like Feng Yiping and others, who now drive dozens of minutes to San Francisco because they have achieved results. Find a bar and dance the night away.

However, they are all very tired after all. After getting on the commuter bus, many people immediately fall asleep.

"I just said you won't let us down, you are a genius engineer," Feng Yiping couldn't help but praise Musk again.

After he shifted the focus of his work to Tesla, one of the several problems that had been plaguing the overall research and development process was solved by him. Feng Yiping was very happy for his original decision. It is indeed reliable.

Musk rubbed his cheek, "The most important thing is that our R&D team has collected a lot of evidence and data, and based on this information, we have formulated many plans,"

"Of course, not all of these solutions are feasible, but many of us will not admit this,"

"One of the weaknesses of human nature is that when we make a decision about something, we tend not to change that decision, even when faced with contrary facts."

"And you know, I'm best at overturning other people's conclusions,"

Eberhard almost affirmed out loud, "So you know this too!"

"Then, I compare the remaining possible feasible solutions, the ones with a higher probability of success... it's that simple,"

"Haha, this is not easy," Feng Yiping said.

He actually knows what Musk said. This is the "scientific method" that Musk has always pursued.

He and Feng Yiping had successfully used this trick. The difficulty was that, just like the blue ocean strategy, many people understood the principles, but for specific situations, they often could not draw the most correct solution based on the already known principles. Conclusion comes.

Another difficulty for Musk in solving this problem is that it seems that all roads lead to Rome, but after a short period of trying, he can accurately find the best way to go and the least area that needs to be renovated. .

"It can only be said that Musk is talented in engineering, just like Feng, you can easily see further than us in many aspects," Eberhard from the front row interjected.

It should be said that his words were inserted very well, and they fully demonstrated his generosity and kindness, but Musk didn't seem to be too cold, "You guys chat, I'll take a rest,"

You said you need to rest, so where can we talk again? Eberhard could only laugh silently twice.

Feng Yiping could only pat him on the shoulder twice to express comfort.

As before, Musk can indeed lead everyone to solve some difficult problems, but his and Eberhard's inability to deal with each other remains the same as before.

…………

In the city of San Francisco, after a short break, a busload of people walked into a bar with the same enthusiasm as at work, laughing and talking loudly, and immediately dispersed.

The bar that Eberhard contacted had a lot of entertainment. Most importantly, there were many men in the bar who had been working for a long time. There were only a few female engineers in the team, and their eyes were wide open. Bright, energetic woman.

Seeing that many guys were chatting up people quickly, Feng Yiping smiled and said, "It seems that we haven't squeezed them hard enough."

"Feng, I really have a different view on this. It's been tough enough to be tense for so many months," Straw said. "The reason why everyone seems so energetic is mainly because of the success brought about by it." Excited,"

"Really? Then I really need to treat everyone well," he touched his pocket, feeling a little embarrassed at once, but it was empty.

I rarely carry a wallet now. I was leaving in such a hurry just now. How could I bring this with me?

Musk took out a black card and handed it to a waitress behind the bar. "Bring out all the good drinks. Everyone," he pointed at the bar and made a circle. "We're invited."

Immediately, this guy gained the attention of many women in the bar, including the girl at the bar.

Even Feng Yiping thought that his move was really cool!

Then, he said without hesitation, "Take out all your best champagne, we want to celebrate!"

Anyway, it's not your own money, so it's a waste if you don't spend it.

Musk looked at Feng Yiping and smiled.

It can be seen that he was actually very happy at this time. That is, this is a good way to prove his genius to Tesla's engineers.

"Why, you are suddenly not afraid of drinking?"

"If you get drunk, just sleep here. At worst, we can book a hotel next door. Anyway, this card is enough, isn't it?" Feng Yiping said.

He was naturally very happy.

Tesla can be said to be his largest investment and the most stressful project.

This was originally a project with extremely high R&D difficulty. Feng Yiping decided not to use other existing car platforms - Tesla's first car Roadsters originally used the Lotus chassis, but all the systems were developed from scratch, which obviously added a lot of difficulty.

To be honest, with more and more investors introduced and higher expectations from the outside world, he has become less and less confident about the node of mass production in 2008.

But if possible, he obviously doesn't want to be like Musk, a king of defaulting on payments. The successful development of the motor system tonight gave him great encouragement.

"Congratulations to us again," he held champagne and toasted with everyone along the way.

"In fact, there is another key factor that has enabled us to achieve the current results in such a short time," Musk took the initiative to say after sitting down.

"Is it funding?" Feng Yiping said.

Musk glanced at him, "Yes, it is funding."

This is also the main reason why Feng Yiping dared to boast that he had achieved results in 2008.

In the original history, Tesla was all small-scale in the first few years, otherwise Musk would have become Tesla's major shareholder and chairman with only a few million dollars.

But in Feng Yiping's hands, as of the end of last month, the money he invested was close to 600 million US dollars.

He originally held 60% of the shares, and after introducing several big guys in succession, his share was reduced to 54%, that is, he alone invested more than 300 million US dollars here.

Originally, Tesla had a staff of more than 100 people until 2006. Feng Yiping recruited an outstanding team of engineers with more than 1,000 people right after he came in.

The capital investment is more than ten times the original, and the staff size is also more than ten times the original - not to mention the average level of employees, it is also higher than the original Tesla, which is also the main reason why he is confident that he can achieve results in 2008.

Sufficient funds are sometimes very effective.

"Sufficient funds are the prerequisite for us to achieve many breakthroughs," Musk said something similar to what Feng Yiping thought.

"Has the funding problem affected the research and development progress of SpaceX?" Feng Yiping asked.

"Yes, it has a significant impact," the strong man Musk sighed rarely.

"What a pity," he looked at Feng Yiping and said.

Feng Yiping understood what he meant by "what a pity".

He was rich and had a good relationship with him, but obviously, they could not cooperate on the SpaceX project.

The US government's support for business is not just verbal.

Whether it is Musk's SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) or Bezos' Blue\Origin (Blue Origin), both have received strong support from NASA.

NASA has opened up a lot of technology to them.

For any country, aerospace technology belongs to the category of cutting-edge technology. Feng Yiping is still a Chinese citizen. Given the relationship between China and the United States, it is naturally best for him not to touch such projects.

Don't think about investing through offshore companies that are packaged layer by layer. The relevant US agencies will definitely be very strict in reviewing these companies. No matter how well you package them, they will definitely find out if they want to.

And they will definitely want to check. After all, if the launch part of a launch vehicle is replaced by a warhead, it is a ballistic missile.

Of course, these reasons do not need to be stated explicitly. They can understand them by exchanging glances.

"If possible, find Page and his friends. The two of them now have so much money that they are worrying about financial management companies," Feng Yiping said with a smile.

"I have this idea, but let's wait and see," Musk and Feng Yiping touched each other, "It's better to talk about it after we have achieved certain results,"

"I believe that this day will not be too far away," Feng Yiping said, "But everyone, although we have made great progress today, the overall situation is still not optimistic,"

"It turns out that we have reached a consensus that after the successful completion of the R&D work, we will not consider the production of various components. Many of the components we designed are brand new, and the evaluation and verification may take three years,"

"That is, if you want to produce a product in 2008, you have to do this work next year at the latest, that is, we have to complete all the R&D work by the end of this year at the latest, and there is only more than half a year until the end of the year,"

"But looking at our progress, the transmission system is still stuck there,"

"And in any case, it will take time to integrate the various systems together in the end,"

"So everyone, greater challenges are still waiting for us ahead,"

Although these words may not be what everyone wants to hear at this moment, it is his main responsibility to pour cold water at the right time and arouse everyone's fighting spirit again.

"I think we can shorten the verification time," Musk said, "At the same time, we have to consider the production problem now. For the core components that need to be produced by ourselves, we should consider the design of the production line now. For those that can be outsourced, it is best to start looking for foundries now,"

"I will do these jobs," Eberhard immediately stated.

Their table is actually the current board of directors of Tesla.

"Musk, I hope you can continue to allocate part of your energy to Tesla in the future, and we will solve all the problems together," Straus said.

As CTO, his comprehensive ability is naturally beyond doubt, but in terms of ideas, there is still a clear gap between him and Musk.

And in such work, pioneering ideas are undoubtedly very important.

"Is it okay?" Feng Yiping asked Musk.

"I have been working smoothly at Tesla recently, and I also hope to continue the current momentum," Musk said.

"I think that's all right. Come, I wish us all the best in completing all the research and development work by the end of this year," Feng Yiping stood up.

"Go for it!"