Jin Lei Jia Haonan from Aofei Temple
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Apple is going to get a car, which was indirectly confirmed by Musk today. Under a series of news such as the car manufacturing plan, the release of the first new car in September next year, and the breakthrough battery technology, Apple has become the front-page headlines in the technology and automobile fields in the past two days.
But what's even more exciting is that Musk "added fuel to the fire" and personally exposed new news to this hot topic:
In the "darkest moment" of the Model 3 project, I once asked Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple's acquisition of Tesla , which is one-tenth of its current market value (about 60 billion US dollars).
But I never expected that Cook didn't even give him a chance to meet.
So Musk revealed this past at this time, is it just a matter of fact? Is it a show off? Or do you want to show that Apple has always been doing things in car manufacturing?
The grievances in the world, let’s start with this past that Musk did not unfold.
When did Musk talk about it?
2017~2019.
was at the "darkest moment" when Model 3 production capacity climbed, delivery could not keep up, and Tesla's funds were exhausted.
, especially since 2018, after 15 years of its establishment and 4 cars were launched into the market, Tesla still failed to streamline the supply chain and the company's operations continued to suffer losses. The Model 3 model with
has a weekly output of less than 3,000, and its gross profit margin is also negative.
Some foreign media have calculated the calculations for Tesla: $6,700 burned per minute. What’s even more difficult is that Tesla still failed to turn over after a whole year. The production capacity problem of
also exposed all the company's operating problems in 2019.
html Starting from the beginning of 5, Tesla laid off 7% of its employees, and the delivery of Model 3, which was highly anticipated, has not been resolved. If the stock price continues to fall and the company cannot turn losses into profits, its cash flow may be cut off.
In March 2019, the American Value Investors Club VIC issued a short report. The report of
starts from multiple angles such as weakening product demand, poor product safety performance, huge funding gap, and Musk may be dismissed from the job: This is an excellent time to short Tesla.
In the quarterly earnings call, Musk, who has always been tough, even began to surrender, saying that he did not resist the dilution of financing, and even for the company's development, he could consider it by selling insurance.
At the same time, Musk is also leading the team to "tighten the belt to live", throwing out a new cost reduction plan, and reviewing every expenditure of the team, including "parts, wages, travel expenses and rents", etc.
But the market did not buy it, and Tesla's valuation fell below $200.
There were many analysts at that time, and Tesla was already on the verge of bankruptcy, and the biggest potential buyer was Apple.
This is also Musk's darkest moment.
A series of bad difficulties made him speak nonsense and "privatised", and was eventually investigated by . The title of chairman was "revoked". Silicon Valley Iron Man, who was once compared with , was questioned as "American Jia Yueting".
collapsed on the edge of the cliff. Silicon Valley Iron Man was fragile in an interview with " New York Times ": "All day and night, there are no children, no friends, and nothing but work."
Later, the key to the turnaround came from China and Shanghai.
In January 2019, the foundation of Tesla's Shanghai factory was laid. Five months later, the factory was built at the speed of light.
In October 2019, the Shanghai Super Factory with an annual production capacity of 500,000 to 1 million vehicles was put into production, and the production cost was 65% lower than that in the United States.
Tesla's dilemma has begun to turn.
has the Model 3 basic market that China is under the pressure. Tesla is generally upward, and the market and capital have begun to support Tesla again.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, Tesla's sales in China began to surpass North America, and Tesla also achieved its first profit.
In January 2020, Musk personally came to Shanghai to attend the domestic Model 3 delivery ceremony and said excitedly at the scene:
Without China's support, there would be no Tesla today.
even danced excitedly to cheer up:
And with Tesla's "made in China", the price threshold is also falling again and again, and Model 3 has become the best-selling electric car model.
Musk has made a comeback in China, and Tesla's stock price has started a crazy mode.
As for today, Tesla's stock price has reached the $640 mark, with a market value of more than $600 billion, and it is in the limelight.
This is why Musk "sits to talk about Xuanzong".
Why did Musk reveal his past at this time?
However, if you think Musk is "welcoming friendly businessmen" to join the market and strengthen the electric and smart cars camps, then it is a big mistake.
Because it is well known that Musk doesn't like Apple. At least as the helm of Tesla, he doesn't like it.
As early as 5 years ago, Apple began to poach Tesla talents. Musk mocked the media without looking at the monks and said:
Apple can only recruit people we don’t want. We nickname Apple “Tesla Graveyard”. If you can't continue working at Tesla, then go to Apple. I'm not kidding.
Later mentioned Apple, and there were few good things, let alone Apple's car manufacturing, which would become a direct competitor with Tesla.
So combined with this series of backgrounds, you can probably also gain a glimpse of Musk's self-exposing mentality:
Iron Man was at the end of my life and had to bow to the Apple I didn't like to ask for a purchase... You Cook didn't even look at it.
is now good, and Tesla's market value is 10 times the price it was when it was acquired.
Well, it has the element of showing off, and also the mentality of "I once ignored my love, but today you can't stand it."
And Apple's car manufacturing news is hot, so when will it not "complain" at this time?
Apple's car manufacturing progress is indeed unexpected.
Just recently, several authoritative foreign media including Reuters exposed:
Apple Car will be launched in the third quarter of 2021 and is planned to be mass-produced in 2024.
, and currently suppliers in Taiwan, China are making every effort to stock the " Apple Car " parts.
In addition, there are reports that Apple has secretly tested dozens of prototype cars on the road to California .
Although the specific style and supply chain partners have no accurate information yet...
, "Apple wants to build a car" is not a secret.
As early as 2013, Apple's entry into the automotive field laid the groundwork. At that time, it launched the "iOS in the car" plan, hoping to fully integrate iOS 7 into the on-board systems of major mainstream car manufacturers.
And just the following year, in 2014, a plan called "Project Titan" gradually surfaced.
It is said that the original goal of the "Titan Project" is to create , a product that disrupts the industry, just like designing iPhones and iMacs.
For this reason, Apple quickly recruited troops and established an automotive laboratory near Apple's headquarters in Cupertino.
By 2015, the team expanded to thousands of people in just one year.
includes outstanding talents from car companies such as Tesla, Chrysler Automobile, Volkswagen Group , including former Tesla Vice President Chris Porritt.
However, under the turbulent momentum, Apple was exposed to a series of unsuccessful progress.
In 2016, there were great differences in the promotion of the Titan project:
, a team led by Steve Zadesky, former head of Apple's automobile project, hopes to develop cars with semi-autonomous driving functions; while the team led by Jonathan Ive hopes to create a fully autonomous driving platform.
In other words, one needs to build a complete vehicle, the other focuses on software platforms. The two major "leaders" have different opinions and naturally cannot continue.
Then, Apple gave a solution - rehiring Bob Mansfield, a retired former executive at the time, and he would take over the "Titans Project".
Bob Mansfield is on the rise and prefers to "develop software and support solutions", so there is new news that the vehicle R&D plan has been cut.
, and judging by the subsequent series of Apple's car-oriented actions, it is indeed more oriented towards software and technology, such as autonomous driving.
Apple's autonomous driving test cars have also begun to appear on Silicon Valley Road.
In addition, it is the continuous progress of talent and team acquisition.
In August 2018, Apple brought back Doug Field of Tesla's master (who had worked at Apple for 5 years) to Apple.
In July 2019, Apple acquired Drive.ai, an autonomous driving startup under Ng, and the relevant documents show that the team is valued.
Later, Apple also exposed a series of new patents, from car in-car to autonomous driving, which involved almost all aspects of smart cars.
and due to the change of the project leader again - The Verge latest news, the current person in charge of Apple's car project is John Giannandrea.
So there are rumors that Apple's integrated software and hardware car will likely be the first to debut with an in-car AI interactive system.
Who knew that before the speech was finished, Apple was exposed to the progress of 's breakthrough battery technology , and the entire project can be greatly accelerated.
And although Apple has never made a car, it took Tesla 17 years to get the supply chain done.
But after this breakthrough progress, the outside world is more optimistic than disliked Apple's car manufacturing - even if it doesn't even have a shadow.
"Although cars are not mobile phones, if there is a company on this planet that has the ability to achieve it, the biggest possibility is Apple."
impact: Apple stocks rose sharply, Tesla fell
Apple can promote electric cars in the short term After the news that Apple can promote electric cars in the short term, the stock price rose sharply, with an increase of 2.85%.
overnight rose to GM .
At the same time, potential upstream and downstream companies in Apple's automotive supply chain also benefited.
Foreign media summary: Lumentum (laser chip) rose 9%, Sijiaxun (communication) rose more than 2%, Qorvo ( radar and communication equipment) rose 1.8%, and Jabil (communication equipment) rose more than 1%.
electric vehicle chip maker Cree also rose by more than 2%.
, and the share price of lidar sensor system maker Velodyne Lidar rose by about 11%. Previously, Apple used their lidar for testing vehicles.
Another manufacturer of cost-effective and mass-producible lidar, Luminar Technologies, also rose 8%.
is just an elephant entering the market, and some people are happy, while others are worried.
For other car manufacturers, Apple's sudden acceleration of its car manufacturing plan also caused a significant shock wave.
In the latest US stock trading day, Tesla fell 1.46%, and fell more than 5% during the session.
and new forces in China have also fallen one after another.
Ideal Auto fell by more than 6%, Xiaopeng Auto fell by more than 5%, and NIO fell by more than 4%.
Wall Street analysts have now started the Apple fan mode.
Evercore analysts said: "Battery cost is one of the main obstacles to the large-scale popularization of electric vehicles. If Apple achieves a breakthrough in battery technology, then this may become the ultimate driving force for production."
Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report: "From Tesla's perspective, we have always believed that technology companies like Apple have stronger competitiveness than traditional OEM manufacturers.
Of course, Musk is as smart as he is naturally not unaware of the impact of Apple's acceleration in car manufacturing.
except for revealing the past that Cook ignored.
Musk also clearly questioned what Apple calls "battery breakthrough progress":
If this is true, it would be strange.
Tesla has used lithium iron phosphate batteries in production at its Shanghai factory. Monomer batteries are chemically impossible, with maximum voltage amplification of 100 times lower unless they are glued together.
However, Musk's doubts did not cause greater discussion.
Maybe it's because it's too professional and can't get in touch, maybe it's still early.
. For more Apple fans, there is only one topic to pay attention to:
Apple electric car, will it be given a charger?
According to the news, everything will be clear in September next year~
—End —
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