Solar City and SpaceX
“$10 billion would be pretty helpful.”
Elon Musk said with a broad smile.
Perhaps now he considers himself to be the party that has benefited the most from this negotiation.
Last year, Elon Musk caused a lot of controversy when he bought Solar City, a solar power company founded by his cousin and he himself as a major shareholder, by Tesla for a whopping $2.6 billion.
Even so, Tesla was still struggling with sluggish business performance.
In such a situation, the criticism that it was an act of breach of trust by using company funds to acquire Solar City, which is virtually in a state of bankruptcy, continued, and even a lawsuit was filed.
Of course, this lawsuit would take several years, and Elon Musk would end up paying a lot of money to settle the case, but in the current situation, it was going pretty badly for Elon Musk.
At that time, when Eugene decided to invest $10 billion in funds and issue new shares to receive a 25% stake, it was a heartbreaking thing for Elon Musk.
$10 billion is enough to use for Tesla’s working capital for a long time, and it can show the shareholders that Eugene’s investment has been received.
Moreover, I am very happy to be able to participate in the cryptocurrency market with a promising future.
But if you say it’s actually fun, Eugene will add it.
I don’t know the very distant future, but considering the profit that Tesla’s stock will make in the next five years, I already feel like dancing.
At this point, Tesla’s share price was hovering around $50 billion. And four years later, it easily crosses the $1 trillion mark.
If you sell the stocks you already own through the issuance of new stocks at that time, you can earn as much as Eugene’s total assets now.
If you think about it, the current $10 billion is nothing short of a bargain.
“I think derivatives based on cryptocurrencies would be interesting.”
It seems that Elon Musk already has an idea for a business that can be built with cryptocurrency.
“If we provide the right leverage, it has the potential to grow rapidly in a short period of time. And the most attractive thing is that it is not regulated by financial authorities.”
As with derivatives based on the real economy, derivatives based on cryptocurrencies can also use much higher leverage than normal trading, allowing people to make large investments with little cost.
This means that gambling is much higher. Of course, it is much more attractive.
“Since the market size of cryptocurrency is not yet very large, it will be difficult to introduce derivatives. It will raise at least $10,000 or more, and people will have to pay attention to get enough liquidity.”
Cryptocurrency-related derivatives came out after Bitcoin hit $20,000.
“That’s right. But do you really think $10,000 is possible?”
“I think it will be like that in a year or two at the latest. Analyzing the trends in information dissemination, there will be an explosion of interest by the end of the year.”
“indeed… … So, if you buy it now, you can make at least several times the profit in one year. If Eugene actively promotes the fact that he is investing in himself, it will never be impossible.”
Elon Musk thought that Eugene’s name was enough to revitalize the cryptocurrency market. That’s probably why he stepped out.
“You seem to have been interested in cryptocurrency for a long time, right?”
Eugene asked gently.
“I’ve been paying attention since going up and down a thousand dollars a few years ago. It was surprising to see a bunch of worthless bits go up to a thousand dollars.”
“Yes. It was definitely great.”
“Since then, I have been paying attention to the cryptocurrency market. But after it crashed due to hacking, I thought it wasn’t something that could be easily touched. Until I heard that Eugene invested in the exchange.”
Musk had other ideas.
And, as Eugene said, in the near future, he worked hard to come up with a plan to use suitable items in case the public’s explosive interest was aroused.
“Investing in cryptocurrency is good, but it should not disrupt Tesla operations. If I file a lawsuit, it will be different from the lawsuits of ordinary shareholders.”
Eugene warned. Because he knows all too well that Elon Musk is a man who never knows where he’s going.
“Of course. I do not intend to become a stain on Eugene’s investment, which has never failed.”
Elon Musk replied with a grin. In fact, Eugene thinks Tesla absolutely needs Elon Musk.
It is because I think that Elon Musk’s showmanship played a very important role in Tesla’s ability to achieve a stock price that was superior to its earnings and future value.
Eugene had a large stake in Elon Musk’s Tesla and other PayPal mafia companies.
These may not be able to make huge profits right away, but if you look a little further, they will still be well above the Tesla level.
I don’t think it’s too bad that they gave out a stake in the cryptocurrency exchange in return. Anyway, from the beginning, I was planning to sell more than a certain level of stake.
It is better for cryptocurrency exchanges to have moderate competition and diverse participants.
Also, if Eugene dominates all exchanges, suspicions about cryptocurrency surges and collapses may be raised in the future.
From the beginning, Eugene planned to hold only 50% of the market once the market is on a certain trajectory.
“By the way, I met Sergei and Larry a while ago, and they both talked about Eugene.”
“Did I say we were very close to each other?”
“Sure. In fact, they are the two people who know me best.”
Google’s two founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, had great trust in Elon Musk.
During the 2008 financial crisis, he donated $500,000 and invested $600 million in Elon Musk’s lifetime project, SpaceX.
Larry Page even said that if he died, he would hand over all of his fortune to Elon Musk.
Larry Page is notorious for not giving away his fortune, whereas similarly wealthy Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg donate a significant portion of their fortunes to society through various donations.
Since Larry is so generous with Elon Musk, the interest and affection of the founders of Google for Elon Musk is very clear.
“When I want to relax, I go to Sergei’s house.”
In particular, he is said to be close enough to visit Sergei without contact.
“I heard you were talking about the future of X Development.”
“XDevelopment is a very nice play area.”
“Actually, I used to give advice on various projects of X Development. Sergei and Page are planning some really fun things that will surprise the world again. Investing in X Development will yield good results. Of course, all the X developments combined will not be as good as my X. haha.”
There seems to be a different reason for bringing up the story of X Development.
It is widely known that Elon Musk’s biggest dream is not in Tesla, but in SpaceX.
However, like Tesla, SpaceX is still in the red.
“Space X is definitely a huge project. I also want to see Elon get to Mars someday.”
“It wouldn’t be too far off that day. However… … .”
Elon glanced at Eugene’s eyes.
“Are you interested in Space X?”
“I know that Elon will never give out his stake in Space X without knowing anything else, right?”
Eugene requested investment in companies of the PayPal Mafia, but made no requests for SpaceX. It’s because I’m well aware of Elon Musk’s love for SpaceX.
“It would be any other person. But I think Eugene would recognize my ideal.”
Elon Musk owns an absolute stake in SpaceX and has no intention of going public.
After Elon, the company that owns the largest stake is Sergei and Larry’s Google, Elon’s best friends.
If ordinary shareholders intervene, they will be pressured to obtain short-term profits, which will surely hamper Elon’s wish to build a Mars transportation system through SpaceX.
“I heard that Eugene’s investments are never tied to short-term returns. In that respect, it’s completely different from Wall Street investors. If it is you, I can trust you and surrender my stake.”
Elon said as if he had a good heart.
“Hmm. If so, tell me the amount you want and the stake you can offer. ah! Of course, before that, you should also check your financial position.”
Eugene knows that if he invests in SpaceX now, he can earn at least tenfold in a few years.
You can sell your stake in SpaceX to Elon Must himself, which will be a huge denial if Tesla’s stock peaks, so you don’t have to worry about where to sell it.
“Do you really think SpaceX is worth $20 billion?”
Eugene, who had received Elon Musk’s proposal, asked. Elon has been demanding $1.8 billion for a 9% stake.
“I think it’s well worth it.”
“Do you think the value has more than doubled compared to when you invested in Google last year?”
“Last year, the US Air Force won a contract to launch a GPS. And a lot of progress has been made since then.”
“okay. But it’s not that appealing to me. I am a person who spares no expense in investing for the future, but I do not intend to pay a high price to enter.”
“Then to what extent do you think?”
Elon easily took a step back. It seems that he sang strongly with the intention of getting off from the beginning. As an unbelievable human being, he is no less than Zuckerberg.
They are humans who easily betray Zuckerberg, Elon, or a partner who believes in them.
Eugene thought of what the future Elon Musk would do to Sergei.
In fact, the floor is like that. no. You may have to say that the more people like that, the easier it is to succeed.
“Up to $17 billion is fine. 9% on $1.5 billion.”
It seems that Elon has no intention of giving more than 9% to Eugene. In any case, the necessary funds must be raised and control over Space X must be guaranteed.
“18% on $2.65 billion.”
For some reason, Eugene wanted to tease Elon Musk a little.
“This is a one-time offer.”
At Eugene’s words, Elon Musk’s complexion darkened.
“It is difficult.”
After thinking for a while, he opens his mouth.
“I’m sorry. There is nothing we can do if our conditions are not met.”
Eugene smiled and announced the end of the transaction.
Elon Musk owns a 78% stake. Here, even if Eugene acquires 18% of the new shares, Elon Musk will still hold a 66% stake, but if the stake is taken away in that way, it will be difficult to attract the next investment.