Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Translation: Godtl
"President, here's the file the research team just sent over."
"...What time is it in Korea right now?"
"It's 5 AM."
"I've made you work unnecessarily hard."
"It's fine. As per the Chairman's directive, the research department operates on a 24-hour rotation so we can provide information whenever the President requests it."
The moment I saw the face of Elon Musk, my instincts told me one thing:
That guy is insane.
It was as if the same madness I had sensed when I first encountered Bitcoin now filled Elon Musk's entire being. But my instincts weren't reacting to warn me to stay away from him.
There was one thing I had learned after rolling around in the financial markets:
Madness equals money.
Just look at Bitcoin.
To put it bluntly, Bitcoin is a scam.
It's a fraud.
It's not even a company's stock—just a chunk of data.
But here's the thing: people know it's a scam.
Yet value isn't about whether something truly exists or is just an illusion.
If people assign meaning to it, that becomes its value, and the market determines the price of that value.
As a result, Bitcoin's price soared to $20,000.
A perfect display of the madness of crowds.
"Tesla's initial market cap was only $1.7 billion, but after achieving massive success in the electric vehicle sector, it grew to $58 billion. That's rapid growth in a short period."
Elon Musk insisted that electric vehicles would soon become the centerpiece of future industry and steadily rolled out new EV models.
He managed to partially resolve the persistent battery issues, but what truly shocked people was the zero-to-sixty acceleration.
In the past, many car brands competed over who could achieve the fastest zero-to-sixty time using gasoline engines.
But then Tesla's electric cars arrived with zero-to-sixty speeds faster than any gasoline-powered vehicle in the world, effectively ending that competition.
Thanks to this performance, even those who had strong negative perceptions of electric vehicles gradually began to change their minds. As a result, Tesla's market capitalization reached 60 trillion won.
"But now it's slowly declining, isn't it?"
"Yes. There are two main reasons. First, Tesla is facing delays in the production of its new T3 model. CEO Elon Musk has been pushing for full automation in factory production lines, and the T3 is at the core of that initiative. The problem is, he's essentially proven that full automation with current technology is difficult."
Wall Street has a favorite toy to play with.
And that toy is Tesla.
Wall Street firms frequently short Tesla, and that's because, compared to the profits Tesla generates, its stock price is absurdly high.
Tesla's current stock price is $360.
Even though Tesla doesn't dominate the EV market or demonstrate overwhelming production capacity, its stock price sits at $360—which is clearly a problem.
"Some experts even claim Tesla itself is a scam. Ironically, though, Wall Street is partly responsible for Tesla's stock price reaching this point."
They repeatedly shorted Tesla, constantly waging war against those taking the opposite position, and as retail investors, drawn in by the excitement, piled in, the stock price got pumped up.
"On top of that, Elon Musk loves social media and media exposure way more than other CEOs."
"In other words, he's really good at stirring the pot?"
"Exactly. That's part of why Tesla became so famous, but there are clear downsides too. Still, in the end, he's built a market cap of 60 trillion won—so isn't that a success?"
The problem is, Wall Street gets dragged into that pot-stirring too, leading to constant short-selling battles.
Literally a plaything.
The term "Wall Street's playground" fit perfectly.
"······."
I examined the current Tesla stock price and the analysis of its future trajectory. According to the research data, Wall Street was once again taking massive short positions.
"As I mentioned earlier, CEO Musk's reckless pursuit of full automation has led to production errors across the board, causing them to miss their target output. There are also issues emerging with the delivered products."
In short, Tesla was currently facing a major crisis.
And for the Wall Street folks who'd been bored and digging into corners since the Volmageddon incident, this was extremely welcome news.
If they executed large-scale short selling here, they could reap tidy profits.
"······!"
Right then, a sensation as if something had jabbed me sharply shot through my body.
With the tingling surge of intuition, the name "Tesla" reeked intensely of money.
"So they're preparing for another short selling war now?"
"Yes. The problem is, given the company's current situation, it's likely to be a rather one-sided battle. Short selling would undoubtedly be advantageous."
"Shall we join the fight?"
"Ah. Then I'll explore ways to short sell through our prime broker."
I grabbed Chief Seo's arm as he moved to act immediately.
"No. Not short selling."
"······Excuse me? Y-you can't possibly mean going long?"
"Yes."
Chief Seo blinked several times, his face full of things he wanted to say, but ultimately remained silent.
"Then how much capital are you considering?"
The amount we could invest would likely be limited.
After all, stocks ultimately require someone to buy and someone to sell—what's called liquidity—for trades to occur.
"How much do we currently have available?"
"4 trillion won."
Then another intuition hit me with such force it made my body jerk.
"······Then let's go with 4 trillion won."
Chief Seo panicked and tried to dissuade me.
"Excuse me? B-but even with Tesla's market cap reaching 60 trillion won, absorbing 4 trillion won in trading volume would be difficult."
I thought the same.
If we tried shoving in 4 trillion won, it would shock the market, and this time the SEC might really slap handcuffs on me for market manipulation.
Yet my intuition remained unshaken, still reacting to that amount.
'I was trying to avoid looking at the U.S. market if possible.'
During the Volmageddon incident, I'd nearly gotten arrested by overreaching.
That's why I hadn't even wanted to think about that market for a while.
But damn this intuition—it seemed determined to go for another big score.
"Still, please look into it."
Chief Seo, who'd known since forever that trying to persuade me was pointless, eventually nodded.
"I'll investigate the current market liquidity in detail. Ah, but Chairman—won't you be visiting Close AI's headquarters after acquiring their shares?"
After taking over the shares, I'd considered visiting headquarters to meet their people.
But my intuition was solely fixated on Tesla, showing no reaction whatsoever to this side.
Maybe it's fine to leave them be—they'll manage on their own.
"Visit them later. For now, focus entirely on Tesla."
Or perhaps it was waiting for something else.
＊＊＊
"Still no contact? No board meeting summons?"
"No. It's quiet."
Nick McTman, CEO of Close AI, closed his eyes briefly.
Though technically a co-founder with Musk, the two were practically polar opposites.
Should I say their ways of thinking differed?
Musk always thought about money first.
But MacTman pursued something beyond money.
A perfect AI.
The very AI that existed only in our imagination.
The AI that humanity must develop for its evolution—and for survival.
That was why they had started as a non-profit organization.
To keep profit-driven entities as far away as possible, solely to develop that one AI capable of breaking through humanity's existential crisis.
But then, that bastard Tusk had gone and screwed everything up.
He had sold off all his shares to a money-crazed financier.
"And of all people, the one who took those shares is... unusual."
Jeong Jin-ho, who simultaneously operated Gwangun Securities and KW Exchange.
Lately, there had been a lot of talk about this man.
From what MacTman had vaguely heard from Tusk—LK Group, Deutsche Bank, the Yonghae Alliance, TSNC, Nvidia, and even the recent Volmageddon crisis.
The number of companies that had collapsed after being ensnared in his schemes was far from few.
And despite being relatively young, he was already shaking the foundations of global finance.
In other words, his intelligence far surpassed the bounds of genius.
And now, out of nowhere, this man had struck a deal with Tusk and taken 45% of Close AI's shares.
With 45% ownership, that was more than enough power to throw his weight around.
He could immediately convene a board meeting and turn this non-profit into a profit-driven entity, milking it for all it was worth before discarding it.
"And yet... there's been no movement at all."
That was what unsettled MacTman the most.
Acquiring such a large stake clearly meant he had plans for the company, yet after taking control, there had been no action whatsoever.
"I can't fathom what he's thinking."
At first, MacTman had resolved to stand firm on principle, no matter what schemes the other side might pull with their shares. But this eerie silence...
They say the most terrifying people in the world are those whose intentions you can't discern.
Jeong Jin-ho was exactly that kind of man.
MacTman had tried to ignore him, but now, his curiosity had grown so intense that he almost wanted to meet the man in person.
＊＊＊
"Tesla's daily trading volume is around 3 trillion won. But recently, it's been gradually increasing."
"Because of the short sellers, right?"
"Yes. There are even rumors circulating that Tesla will go bankrupt soon, so short sellers are actively moving. Though I doubt it'll actually reach bankruptcy."
But the research team's perspective was different.
After gathering various data, they concluded that Tesla's situation was quite serious.
"They've been stubbornly pushing for full automation, but vehicles with critical defects keep rolling out, forcing continuous recalls. Worse, their factory production systems keep malfunctioning, so they're not even hitting half their target output."
"So they're financially at risk too?"
"Yes. There are liquidity issues, and many experts are already calling Tesla a scam. If they can't even meet half their production targets, it'll be a full-blown crisis."
That was why the research team strongly advised against taking short positions.
"But the CEO is considering going long on Tesla, and they're practically foaming at the mouth over it. They keep saying it's absolutely out of the question."
When MacTman had met Tusk last time, he had seemed... carefree, in a way.
But was that just bravado?
By every metric, Tesla was an extremely dangerous bet right now.
"Still, research has to gather as much data as possible per the CEO's orders, right? Realistically, there are a lot of constraints on investing 4 trillion won, but... There are institutions looking to offload their shares right now."
4 trillion won was an amount that could exert massive influence in any market.
Which was why, rather than dumping it directly into the market, acquiring shares through over-the-counter deals would be the safest approach—minimizing market shock.
"Fidelis and Price. These two institutions have already listed their shares for sale as they're looking to reduce their current holdings."
Fidelis and Price were well-known fund companies in the U.S.
"Each of those two firms owns a 10% stake, and it seems they're looking to reduce about 3% of that."
"So if we buy through those two companies, exactly 4 trillion won would cover it?"
"Yes. A 6% stake amounts to roughly 4 trillion won at current market prices."
The reason these fund companies were suddenly looking to offload their long-term holdings came down to the nature of funds themselves.
When more clients started demanding short-term returns, continuing to hold Tesla stock—especially with all the recent negative factors piling up—would become a significant burden for them.
"That's why they're trying to sell slightly below market price. If we proceed that way, we could potentially acquire up to 7%."
"Or, Chairman, if you're truly committed to going long, why not wait for the price to drop a bit more before buying?"
I hovered my pen over the two companies currently offering their shares.
"!?"
As soon as I did, a blaring alarm erupted in my head as if it had been waiting for this moment.
An urgent warning—don't hesitate, buy now.
What on earth is causing this?
Does it really think Tesla is about to skyrocket from here?
"...Is there any factor that could suddenly trigger a rebound for Tesla?"
"The research team has concluded there's almost no chance of a rebound. With production already in such dire straits, there's no foundation to reverse the stock's decline."
Even to my eyes, there wasn't a single positive catalyst that could drive Tesla's stock up right now.
And yet, my intuition was reacting like this.
What in the world is about to happen?
＊＊＊
"CEO, we've got reports of defects at Factory B as well. Some parts weren't even assembled properly..."
"Sigh. Got it. I'm heading there now."
Tusk hadn't had a single day without a headache lately.
These days, it felt like he was living full-time at the factories.
They had revamped the facilities for full automation and launched vehicle production, but all they got in return were defects.
In the end, he had to rush personnel to each factory to meet immediate production demands. The situation had deteriorated so badly that even battery production—which was supposed to be fully mechanized—required manual labor.
[Another massive short-selling wave. Is this the end for Tesla?]
[Tesla crisis rumors resurface.]
[Tesla is a scam.]
"..."
After running around the factories all night to stabilize production, Tusk checked the internet during a brief break.
The media was saturated with doomsday predictions about Tesla.
"These bastards are the real problem."
Tesla had become Wall Street's plaything, with short-sellers swooping in at every opportunity.
They also manipulated the media daily to shake Tesla's stock price.
The problem was, this crisis wasn't fabricated by the media.
Though, admittedly, the media was making it worse.
This time, rumors were spreading that Tesla might actually go bankrupt.
And truthfully, Tesla was in dangerous territory.
"..."
But why?
It felt unbearably unfair to die like this.
And even if he had to go down, he didn't want to go down alone.
At the very least, he couldn't let these Wall Street short-sellers—who attacked him relentlessly and amplified Tesla's crises every time—walk away unscathed.
But driving the company into bankruptcy wasn't an option.
Yet if things continued like this, it would just be another payday for the short-sellers.
"..."
Was it the overwhelming stress?
Or did he genuinely believe he could pull this off?
He wasn't sure.
Maybe it was the late-night emotions getting to him, but his impulses were taking over.
Without a second thought, he opened a social media app and posted:
[Tesla plans to take the company private at a 20% premium. Funding secured.]
Come and get me, you short-selling bastards.