Musk's Landscape

Zhang Yan looked at the news in disbelief, because the news said: Musk came to Dragon Country to visit his mother.

But Zhang Yan knew that this wasn't Musk coming to visit his mother in Shanghai, but rather using this excuse to meet Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan had already set off for Shanghai and was waiting.

——

Lin Yuan was very excited about meeting Musk, the world's chief tech rogue, for the first time.

Putting aside racial and other concepts, that scoundrel at least genuinely spent money on rockets, and that was very important, because Lin Yuan believed: humanity's future was in space.

It was precisely because of this that Musk's 'cutting leeks' behavior somewhat had a legitimate reason.

In fact, many people bought Tesla cars, knowing full well the high premium, considering it a contribution to humanity's noble ideals.

Righteous cause, these words seemed powerless.

But at any time, they were also the most powerful words.

Because when a person calms down, when he no longer has the pressure of survival, he will inevitably consider some eternal questions, some questions about the destiny of humanity.

It was also because of this that Dragon Country proposed the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity. Because if humanity was trapped on Earth, it would be GG sooner or later.

After Lin Yuan arrived in Shanghai, he was picked up by Musk's private bodyguards from the high-speed rail station and taken directly to his mother's home in Shanghai.

“You are truly young. That makes me both happy and regretful.” Musk gave Lin Yuan a bear hug as soon as they met.

This made Lin Yuan a little uncomfortable, but his anxious heart finally settled, because the other party had no airs at all.

“Why do you say, happy and regretful?”

“Because you are so young, you still have a long time to do what you like, and you have far more time than I do. Oh, by the way, you can call me Elon,” Musk shrugged with his characteristic pursed lips, then continued, “As for regret... I originally imagined you would be a physiological female.”

Lin Yuan's face instantly turned green, “That joke isn't funny at all. It makes me want to punch you.” Lin Yuan also directly expressed his dissatisfaction.

“Copy that, then I won't say that again.” Musk showed no sign of anger, “Let's talk about your ideas. To be honest, if it weren't for you proposing it, I would never consider entering the damned food delivery industry. You know, people in your country are just too competitive. I don't have the confidence to beat them.”

“Elon, to be honest, this plan of mine isn't to help you make money; helping you gain profit is just incidental. It's to enable you to help me. My goal is to make an attempt, an attempt that everyone in the world can see—that things are changing. We cannot treat a constantly changing world with an unchanging approach.”

Musk frowned, signaling Lin Yuan to elaborate.

“The exploration and validation of the food delivery industry were completed by private capital, but if they can simply lie back and leech off the food delivery industry because they completed the exploration, then this world will not progress. Look at Microsoft in the operating system field, and Oracle in the database field, as well as other giant enterprises; they all inevitably lie back and leech off the fields they pioneered.

And what's the result? Innovation stops.

Windows operating system has constant bugs, and Oracle database's market share continues to decline.

This situation doesn't just happen in your country; it's everywhere in ours too.

Our ancient Dragon Country saying goes: 'Flowing water is never stale, and a door-hinge is never worm-eaten.' That's exactly what it means.

Once a field is monopolized, it's not far from rotting.

I just want to use the food delivery industry, which has some scale, to prove one point to the world—after the pioneers have eaten their fill, they should proactively give way, and after giving way, the food delivery industry can achieve better development. As long as the rules are public and can be well enforced, new competition will keep a field forever vibrant.”

Musk tilted his head and thought for a while, “Lin, what you're saying is very abstract. I've read the proposal you sent me before. I'll first occupy the high-end part of the food delivery market, and then what? After I've outcompeted the two existing food delivery platforms, then what? Won't I become the new oligopoly?”

Lin Yuan snapped his fingers, “Bingo, at this point, you have to voluntarily give up your monopoly position, establish a set of food delivery standards, and then hand over this food delivery system, allowing anyone to participate in the food delivery industry. In short, it's about actively breaking the monopoly after becoming an oligopoly.”

Musk couldn't help but laugh, “Then what am I doing all this for? For charity?”

“For your reputation! Just think, how noble a person you will be then! You will be the first person in human history to attempt such a thing. To return a field that no longer needs innovation to fair competition.

Why are you building rockets?

Humanity's future is not just in space,” Lin Yuan said, pointing to his chest, “it's also in each of our hearts.”

Lin Yuan spoke very emotionally, “I will provide you with AI technical support, and you should trust my technology. We will achieve groundbreaking innovations in the human food safety industry. Your ultimate profit will be in the AI field, not a small food delivery industry.”

“Fuck!” Musk jumped up excitedly, “You're truly a genius. This way, my OpenAI valuation can go up another level. To use your Dragon Country's words, this is called: gaining both fame and fortune.

Bro,” Musk looked at Lin Yuan very seriously, “join me. Join my OpenAI. What I need most right now is someone who can implement AI technology. I think you're absolutely perfect.”

Facing Musk's invitation, a plan suddenly formed in Lin Yuan's mind.

“I think I would be more useful staying here. Because your civilization has no moral burden towards the impoverished, you can unreservedly offer high salaries to high-end talents, which means we inherently carry more burdens than you in the high-end technology field.

However, the implementation of your high-end technologies cannot be separated from manufacturing, so I think I can help you lead the implementation here.

We can cooperate, and this action targeting the food delivery industry can be the beginning of our cooperation.”

“Good idea. I'm very happy that I've found another person whose vision encompasses all of humanity. Get your technical solution to me as soon as possible; I'll have my people verify it quickly. As long as it's technically feasible, you can leave the rest to me.

I've prepared a billion dollars, which should be enough to burn until profitability.

Bro, how much do you want from this deal?”

Lin Yuan didn't think much, “I can take nothing, because I'm not short of money right now. Gaining your friendship is more important to me. The things I want to do are impossible for me to accomplish alone, bro, I need your strength.”

Musk laughed, “You're truly a cunning and idealistic fellow. You know, the scale of the food delivery industry is too small; I don't intend to rely on it to make money. What I care about is the practical application of AI technology. Since you're so generous, then I must reciprocate.

I still understand your Dragon Country's custom of 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'.

Perhaps we can do this. All the investment returns from this food delivery industry venture go to you; I only want the profits brought by the practical application of AI.”

Lin Yuan smiled and agreed, “Deal!”

Musk was still very broad-minded. What he wanted was the momentum that the implementation of AI technology in the food delivery industry would bring to his OpenAI; he didn't care for the small profits of the food delivery industry.