Pure Cell Day (2)
Vanessa laughed in disbelief.
“You’re not seriously buying that report, are you?”
“I am.”
“Then you’re saying everyone here is being fooled?”
“Exactly. And the reason is that the media has been writing these stories for so long without doing any real verification.”
Was she talking to me?
Vanessa’s tone sharpened. “Do you have any evidence?”
“Of course.”
Trish looked around once more, and when she was sure no one was listening, she lowered her voice.
“You saw the T1 FCV driving video, right?”
“What about it?”
“Apparently, it wasn’t driven at all. They rolled it down a hill.”
“……Huh?”
“And the new model they’re unveiling today is fake too—just an empty shell.”
“…….”
The claim was so absurd that Vanessa honestly had no idea how to respond.
Trish clenched her fist and went on, eyes bright with conviction.
“I’m going to expose everything at this event. I’m telling you this because I’m only giving it to you, so keep it in mind when you write your article.”
Vanessa thought she understood why Trish was doing this.
In the end, if you write the same kind of article everyone else does, nobody notices you. So she’s trying to write the kind of story nobody else would touch?
When everyone else says something is true, saying it isn’t can grab the public’s attention for a while. That was why conspiracy-style articles kept appearing.
The problem came after that.
The backlash from the public would be brutal, and Thomas Motors would not sit still either.
Still, if she wanted to publish it herself, who was Vanessa to stop her?
Maybe one lawsuit will knock some sense into her.
The centerpiece of Pure Cell Day was about to begin: Thomas Motors’ presentation.
The lights came on, and CEO Brad Button stepped up onto the stage.
He spread his arms wide. “Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Pure Cell Day!”
“Woooo!”
The hall erupted in cheers and thunderous applause.
Brad Button surveyed the audience and continued, “Thomas Edison commercialized the light bulb after one thousand experiments. When asked how he endured 999 failures, he said, ‘I did not fail 999 times. I discovered 999 reasons why the bulb would not light.’ We’re the same. Over the years, we’ve discovered hundreds of reasons why hydrogen trucks couldn’t run. And now, at last, we’ve succeeded in finding the one reason they can run on the road. I present the T2 FCV!”
The screens slid open to the left and right, and a massive white truck rolled forward from behind them.
The streamlined body had the word THOMAS emblazoned across it. With its elegant design, as if it had been pulled straight out of the future, the audience couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
“All electric trucks released so far have a driving range of just 300 miles, and a charging time of at least one hour. No matter how urgent the cargo, you still have to plug it in and waste a full hour standing around. What kind of idiots would build a truck like that?”
At that, the audience burst into laughter.
“But the T2 FCV is different. Equipped with a 220-kW hydrogen fuel cell system and twelve high-pressure hydrogen tanks, it can travel 1,000 miles on a single fill. So how long does it take to recharge? Just ten minutes is enough!”
Woooo!
Cheers and applause rose from all over the hall.
Brad Button kept talking as new graphics appeared on the screen.
“That isn’t all. Each motor operates independently, controlling the body so the trailer and cab won’t fold in on each other in a jackknifing accident. The fuel tanks are mounted low to lower the center of gravity and reduce the chances of rollover in a crash. Thanks to Thomas Motors’ proprietary design, we’ve cut the drag coefficient to 0.35, improving fuel efficiency, and we’ve equipped it with state-of-the-art autonomous driving technology capable of platooning, so it can drive without any input from the driver!”
Another graph appeared.
It compared the economics of internal combustion trucks and hydrogen trucks.
“Thanks to Thomas Motors’ exclusive fuel-saving technology, the T2 FCV’s fuel cost is only one-fifth that of a conventional truck. By reducing accident rates and dramatically cutting transportation costs, the T2 FCV will benefit not only logistics workers, but consumers around the world!”
One thousand miles of range, a ten-minute charge, cutting-edge autonomous driving, fuel costs at just twenty percent of the rest—there was no exaggeration in calling it a dream truck.
The audience rose as one, applauding and cheering.
As if urging them on to cheer even louder, Brad Button waved his hands and shouted, “So many people said it couldn’t be done, but we did it! We use solar power to produce hydrogen, and then transport that hydrogen across the United States with hydrogen trucks. Hydrogen is 100 percent eco-friendly energy that uses not a single drop of fossil fuel. The true hydrogen economy begins now. Thomas’ hydrogen trucks will start in America and then spread across the world! To that end, we plan to work with Hwaan Energy to build 150 hydrogen refueling stations across the United States.”
A map of the United States appeared on the screen, and then the projected locations of the refueling stations lit up one by one.
The audience applauded again.
With the atmosphere at the venue at its peak, Brad Button began taking questions from the reporters. Dozens of journalists raised their hands.
He pointed to a beautiful female reporter. “The woman in the first row. Please ask your question.”
It looked random, but the journalists who would be allowed to ask questions had already been selected in advance. They had also been given a list of approved questions beforehand and were only permitted to ask from that list.
The female reporter stood and took the microphone. “Hello. Barnessa Rose from the New York Times. My first question concerns the difference between the T1 FCV and the T2 FCV.”
“The T1 FCV is a cab-over type with a flat front, whereas the T2 FCV is a conventional type with a longer hood, giving it greater payload capacity and longer range. Both models will also be released in double-cab versions with even greater convenience.”
“A lot of companies are waiting for Thomas Motors’ hydrogen truck launch. When do you expect the official sales release?”
“That part is currently being discussed with GM. We’ve signed an MOU for one of GM’s plants to handle part of the production volume, and we’re currently converting the existing production line at the Michigan factory. We plan to begin production of the T1 FCV there first.”
The remark was effectively a public announcement of a production partnership with GM.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
“I understand Thomas Motors has also drawn a great deal of interest overseas. What are your plans for international expansion?”
“The economics of the hydrogen truck have already been proven. That’s why we’re receiving preorders not only from the United States, but from all over the world. We’ll first establish overseas offices in Europe and Asia, and next year we plan to make a full-scale push into international markets.”
After a few more questions, Rose smiled sweetly and said, “Thank you for your answers. This was Barnessa Rose of the New York Times.”
The audience applauded, and the other reporters’ questions followed.
Since Brad Button had the answers in advance, they came easily enough. Each time he replied, applause broke out from the seats.
Then another reporter stood and took the microphone to ask a question.
“Trish O’Connor, Wall Street Times.”
At the unfamiliar name of the outlet, Brad Button tilted his head slightly.
The Wall Street Times? Is that a media outlet Hwaan Energy brought in?
Reporter O’Connor brought up something he had never expected.
“According to the report recently released by Continue Capital, Thomas Motors’ technology is entirely fabricated, and they’ve issued a sell rating. What do you make of that?”
It was not one of the preapproved questions.
Brad Button was caught off guard, but he quickly composed his face and answered, “Our technology is all fake? That’s the first I’ve heard of such nonsense. What exactly is Continue Capital, anyway? A bunch of idiots in suits and glasses pounding on calculators and passing off their so-called analysis as a report? I’m guessing the people working there were furious because they couldn’t buy our stock.”
Laughter broke out all around the hall.
“There have been plenty of reports attacking Thomas Motors. Whenever someone challenges a task no one else can do, there are always people who do nothing but whine that it can’t be done, that it’s dangerous. If Thomas Motors had no real technology, would GM have come forward to acquire a stake? Would Hwaan Energy have entered the hydrogen infrastructure business? This is what we’ve achieved!”
At that, the audience applauded in unison and booed the reporter.
But O’Connor did not flinch and continued her line of questioning.
“Continue Capital has also claimed that the video Thomas Motors released of the T1 FCV wasn’t actually a driving video at all, but a powered-down truck being rolled down a hill. Is that true?”
Watching from below, Vanessa thought to herself, What the hell kind of question is that? Is she putting on a circus act just to get attention?
The audience had much the same reaction.
Is she even a reporter?
What? Rolled down a hill? Has she lost her mind?
And people like that call themselves journalists.
The media had been taking bites out of Thomas Motors for days on end, but there was a limit to how far you could push a nitpick. To look at a video of a truck clearly driving and say it had been rolled down a hill was just absurd.
Vanessa shook her head.
She’s really blowing this up. Did she come here determined to humiliate herself?
Whether she knew what the audience was thinking or not, O’Connor pressed on.
“In the released video, did the T1 FCV actually drive using a hydrogen fuel cell?”
Brad Button said with obvious irritation, “I don’t know why you’re asking that question here. What exactly are you trying to do?”
Booing rose from the audience.
But she held her ground. “Is it true or not? That’s all I’m asking.”
“Are you implying the video was manipulated?”
“I didn’t say that. I’m asking whether the T1 FCV drove under its own power in the video.”
“There was no manipulation of any kind in the video!”
“I’m not asking whether the video was edited. I’m asking whether it actually drove. If it drove, just say that it drove.”
“If you watched it, then you should know. It was exactly as shown.”
“Was what you saw a driving scene, or wasn’t it?”
“The T1 FCV moved. At 60 miles per hour.”
“So was that motion powered, or was it due to inertia? Why do you keep dodging the question?”
Brad Button forced a laugh, hiding his growing embarrassment.
“I don’t know where you heard these ridiculous things, but I don’t even need to answer a question that stupid.”