Chapter 182: Earth Car Project
Chapter 182: Earth Car Project
I had come to Korea for a date with Jo Soo-ah, but in this short time, I had achieved a lot.
〈Kim Shin, Whose Wealth Doubled in a Month〉
My assets had grown from $140 billion to $220 billion.
I had decided to enter the electric vehicle market and secured cooperation from Isung Group, LK Group, and DK Group.
This gave me the confidence that I could do anything.
‘A partnership with Tesla….’
I wasn’t shaken by the suggestion to become part of Elon Musk’s empire.
‘Actually, it’s not a bad idea. Merging with Tesla would certainly open a clear path to success.’
Still, rather than becoming just a part of Tesla’s plans, I wanted to run the electric vehicle business myself.
Elon Musk founded Tesla to build cars that could drive on Mars.
But I wanted to create practical electric vehicles, not chase some grandiose distant dream.
―Eddie: A car operating system? Wow! That sounds really fun!
I was chatting in the group chat with Oh Myeong-woo and Eddie.
I had expected there to be numerous obstacles.
―Eddie: Even if you call it a car operating system, there aren’t that many things a car can actually do, right? You just need to run the essential drive components with quadruple or quintuple safety measures.
―Eddie: For the entertainment side, connect it to communications and integrate it with Pangea Live. It’s not like we’re launching it right away, anyway?
―Kim Shin: Yeah, even at the fastest, it’ll take three years.
―Eddie: Car functions don’t even exceed a few hundred. It’s really simple. As long as you’re not releasing the car this year, there’s no problem at all.
There were only four months left in the year.
Oh Myeong-woo chimed in.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Tesla’s autonomous driving is impressive, but it’s not perfect yet.
―Kim Shin: I heard they have overwhelming competitiveness because they’ve accumulated so much driving data?
―Oh Myeong-woo: In today’s world, data accumulates fast. There are plenty of Silicon Valley companies we can partner with in this field.
―Oh Myeong-woo: We could even build deep learning from games.
―Kim Shin: Games?
―Oh Myeong-woo: Gran Turismo. It’s a racing game renowned as a realistic driving simulator.
―Kim Shin: ….
Autonomous driving systems were already being researched and developed by every car company, so it wasn’t anything new.
For the operating system and other software areas, Earth Resource’s developers had been greatly reinforced, so there were no issues there.
Above all, I knew Elon Musk’s business style well.
‘Tesla makes autonomous driving subscription-based.’
Elon Musk had told me about it.
He was planning to raise the subscription price for autonomous driving from $10,000 to $12,000 soon.
The monthly payment option required $199 per month.
‘Is autonomous driving really worth paying that much?’
Somehow, subscribing felt like leasing the car on installments.
Even if driving became more convenient, people with short commutes or those burdened by the cost wouldn’t easily opt for it.
In Korea, $14,000 could buy a higher trim level.
‘They’d buy a Grandeur instead of a Sonata with autonomous driving.’
Converted to gas, $14,000 was about 10,000 liters.
With a recently released fuel-efficient car, that could mean over 180,000 km of driving.
For electric vehicles, it was nearly 1 million km.
‘A price over $10,000 for autonomous driving is too expensive. It’s almost no value for money.’
That’s why Tesla’s autonomous driving purchase rate had dropped from 37% the year before last to 22% last year, and 12% this year.
Tesla’s differentiating strengths were dwindling.
〈Elon Musk Begins Mass Layoffs at Twitter〉
〈Twitter Blue Paid Subscription Plagued by Impersonator Accounts〉
On top of that, after acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk was stumbling even more.
There was no need to buy a money-losing company like Twitter for over $50 billion.
〈Elon Musk: Tesla Stock’s Biggest Threat〉
Recent media articles claimed that Tesla’s stock decline was largely due to Elon Musk.
Dogecoin’s price had risen even higher after the Twitter acquisition, but still.
‘I want to run my own car company.’
* * *
Seon Jae-yong of Isung Group met almost daily with Gu Jin-mo of LK Group and Choi Jong-won, Chairman of DK Group.
“Mirae Motors is still dragging its feet.”
“It’s frustrating. Business has its timings.”
“Chairman Jin Myeong-il is too greedy.”
The three groups’ interests aligned.
They had reaped massive profits in vaccines, data centers, smartphones, and consoles through cooperation with Kim Shin.
Considering Earth Resource’s growing market share in U.S. shopping malls, the expected profits from these deals were even greater.
Gu Jin-mo of LK Group said.
“We need to get this moving while Kim Shin is staying in Korea.”
Choi Jong-won of DK Group agreed.
“Exactly. Kim Shin is in Korea now, but he’s extremely busy with stock investments…. If the electric vehicle venture starts off sluggishly and becomes a headache from the get-go, he might just give up. Or look for overseas partners.”
Seon Jae-yong nodded.
“You’re right. Kim Shin doesn’t have to do electric vehicles specifically. Whatever he chooses, we’re the ones who’ll regret it.”
When Kim Shin invested in the New York stock market and made hundreds of billions of dollars, the Korean corporate chairmen were the most shocked.
Over $80 billion in estimated profits in less than a month.
This far exceeded Isung Electronics’ annual net profit, and for the other groups, it was an astronomical sum beyond comparison.
Even after 20 or 30 years in business, they had never seen a stock market or returns like this.
Chairman Gu Jin-mo asked.
“What’s Kim Shin’s plan? He could pressure Mirae Motors in various ways.”
“He could move the U.S. government or use other influences. But he doesn’t seem interested in forcing things.”
“I heard Mirae Motors is making a fuss about buying back their own shares.”
The three chairmen talked at length.
How hot the electric vehicle market was, and how to proceed with the business going forward.
“LK Group is prepared to invest over $20 billion in batteries and automotive electronics.”
LK Group fired the first shot.
As the smallest of the three groups in assets, securing $20 billion wasn’t a big issue.
LK Energy Solution, spun off from LK Chemicals, had an asset value highly rated in the stock market.
Though investors were cursing them, if LK Energy Solution joined the Earth Car Project, it could turn into cheers.
“DK Group will also boldly increase investments in batteries. We’re looking at at least $25 billion.”
DK Group coveted the batteries for the Earth Car Project. They had to compete aggressively with LK Group, but even otherwise, they were expanding batteries at the group level.
“Isung Group plans to participate in as many areas as possible, starting with automotive memory semiconductors. We’ve formed a dedicated team under the Secretary’s Office.”
With Isung Electronics holding $100 billion in retained earnings alone, Isung Group was in a far better position than the others.
The more the three chairmen talked, the greedier they grew for the Earth Car Project.
The number of parts going into cars was increasing yearly, and most groups were nurturing automotive electronics as the next big industry.
If Mirae Motors joined and the Earth Car Project launched, each group could massively expand and expect annual revenues of 4 to 5 trillion won or more.
Seon Jae-yong said.
“We need to shake up Mirae Motors a bit.”
“How?”
“First, use the media. Get the other groups to help.”
“Of course. If it’s something we can assist with, we should do it together.”
“We’ll join in full support.”
When the three groups moved, leveraging the media was child’s play.
Advertising spend in smartphones and home appliances dwarfed that of autos, and they maintained ties with major media through family and relatives.
Unlike Mirae Group’s crude management style, they were proactive in media relations.
“What if Mirae Group holds firm against media pressure? They have grit.”
Seon Jae-yong smiled at Chairman Gu Jin-mo’s concern.
“The government will step in. Especially the fair and just prosecutors will wield their power.”
In Korea, dubbed a prosecutorial republic.
Companies with dirty corners everywhere couldn’t withstand aggressive prosecution.
“If they endure even the prosecutors? Then even more righteous civic groups will rise up en masse. The public will mobilize.”
Seon Jae-yong gave a light smile.
Kim Shin and Earth Resource had grown based in the U.S.
They had become an overwhelming powerhouse beyond Isung Group’s reach in an instant, but Mirae Motors Group was different.
* * *
〈Mirae Motors Faces Massive U.S. Recall Over Fire Risks〉
〈Mirae Motors Hid Engine Defects〉
〈Safety Concerns Over Seatbelt Parts in Some Mirae Motors Models〉
〈Largest Recall Ever for Mirae Motors in the U.S.〉
Media criticism of Mirae Motors was intensifying.
Past incidents they wanted buried, barely covered up, were now being massively exposed by media outlets.
“Father, the situation is getting serious.”
“Don’t raise your voice. It’s nothing.”
At Jin Tae-seop, President of Mirae Construction’s words, Chairman Jin Myeong-il just slowly shook his head.
If he couldn’t sense what was happening, he should step down as group chairman.
‘Isung, LK, DK. In the end, they chose to dance to Kim Shin’s tune.’
Mirae Motors had rejected Kim Shin’s proposal, but the other groups were eager to join the Earth Car Project.
Honestly, Chairman Jin Myeong-il was starting to change his mind bit by bit.
‘Pride in leading Korea’s auto industry matters, sure. But partnering on EVs doesn’t erase that pride.’
Mirae Motors’ history included assembling and producing imported overseas brands to build technology.
Exporting auto production tech in reverse could be a point of pride.
‘Corporate pride isn’t worth tens of billions of dollars.’
If Kim Shin’s Earth Car Project succeeded, Mirae Motors stood to gain a lot.
With significant parts compatibility, production costs could be cut.
Brand value would naturally rise too.
Day by day, practical benefits and the huge profits Mirae Motors could reap lingered in his mind over pride.
“Kim Shin manipulating the media is an insult to Mirae Motors. We can’t tolerate it.”
Chairman Jin Myeong-il half-ignored his eldest son Jin Tae-seop’s words and looked at his daughter.
Jin Yoo-kyung sat quietly on the sofa, flipping through a fashion magazine as if uninterested in business.
“Yoo-kyung. What do you think?”
“Me? I’d like to accept Kim Shin’s proposal.”
“Yoo-kyung! What are you….”
Chairman Jin Myeong-il raised his hand to silence Jin Tae-seop’s outburst.
“Enough. I said I want to hear Yoo-kyung’s thoughts.”
“Yes, Father.”
In Mirae Motors Group, Chairman Jin Myeong-il’s authority was absolute.
After thinking for a long while, he said:
“Yoo-kyung. Set up a meeting with CEO Kim Shin. We need to meet in person, today if possible.”
“Yes, Father.”
Jin Yoo-kyung pulled out her phone, sent a text, and waited briefly for a reply.
“Father, he says meeting today is impossible.”
“I see. Then when does he have time?”
“He says in a week.”
“….”