257: Chapter 257 Photovoltaic Panels: Western Medicine is Still Better

"You can't buy it." This time, there was a hint of a smile in Shen Fei's voice. "There is only this one unit for now."

As expected, but Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan wouldn't give up. He switched to a miserable expression, his eyes filled with nothing but worry.

"Then our production capacity..."

Unfortunately, Shen Fei wasn't by his side, otherwise he would have definitely been moved by his acting.

"One unit is enough. Your production line's designed capacity is 1 million pieces per year. The capacity of this laminator is 1.5 million pieces per year, which is absolutely sufficient."

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan's little scheme completely fell through.

"Boss, this equipment... did you make it yourself?"

"You could say that. If we really receive a large order, we'll talk about new equipment then."

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan didn't ask again; he knew that if his boss didn't want to talk about something, asking would be useless.

In the following batches, the yield rate remained stable at over 95%, and the cost decreased by 20% compared to before.

When the news spread, not only the entire photovoltaic industry, but even the power grid sector immediately sent people over.

Meanwhile, Li Zhenguo, the chairman of LONGi Green Energy Technology, was in a meeting in Xi'an. Upon hearing the news, he immediately asked someone to verify it.

"Is it true that Transsion's photovoltaic panels have a 95% yield rate?"

"It should be true. The news came out of their factory, and it's said that the cost has dropped significantly."

Li Zhenguo sat there, feeling a sense of powerlessness.

LONGi is the world's number one producer of monocrystalline silicon wafers. Their core technology isn't that strong, and many key components need to be controlled by Europe.

He had also thought about engaging in R&D, but after pouring hundreds of millions into it, he discovered it was too expensive and not necessarily successful.

It was better to buy finished products from others, then focus on volume and earn some hard-earned money...

But in this moment of hesitation, a new king arrived, with component efficiency reaching 28%.

They were originally able to comfort themselves with Transsion's low yield rate, but now the yield rate has gone up...

They really could consider transforming.

A professional company actually couldn't compare to someone else's side business; this was truly a slap in the face.

"Make arrangements; I'm going to Guangzhou next week."

"To their factory."

"Yes. Go and see how they actually managed to do it."

To prevent Transsion from refusing a tour, he decided to buy a few Transsion Auto vehicles first for the company's staff to use.

After all, to tour someone's core technology, one has to offer some benefits.

Liu Haiyuan of Tongwei Solar was also a bit panicked. Although their main business is solar cells, Transsion's photovoltaic panels use a technical route they have never seen before.

"Have our people not obtained a sample yet?"

"Mr. Liu, Transsion's factory security is very strict; we can't get in."

"Then find a way. Spend money, pull strings; in any case, I want to see that photovoltaic panel. I want to see that photovoltaic panel within a week."

Meanwhile, when the news reached the United States, Andrew Stevens, the hardware lead at Tesla, was thinking about what accessories Tesla should use.

After all, electric vehicles need differentiation; they need to showcase Tesla's uniqueness and present an environmentally friendly photovoltaic concept to the people of the United States.

Zero-pollution, long-range photovoltaic batteries—he believed the people of the United States would definitely like them.

"Mr. Musk, there's a company in China that has produced a photovoltaic panel with 28% efficiency."

The person on the other end of the phone was also very interested. After all, Musk had proposed this concept before, and everyone was very enthusiastic at the offline fan meet-and-greet at that time.

"Which company?"

"Transsion, which is also the current owner of the motorcycle brand."

Musk revealed a look of realization; he remembered.

"However, they make mobile phones; is it reliable for them to make photovoltaics?"

"It's reliable. Not only did they make it, but they also mass-produced it. I had been paying attention to them half a month ago; they were in a lawsuit with Bosch at the time, and that stupid company, Bosch, became their stepping stone."

"They released the car prototype back then. It's just that I really don't like their design; in order to increase the area of the photovoltaic panels, they even used the front hood, which is terrible."

"Make arrangements; I want to talk to them."

"Understood, I'll go arrange it right now."

...

When Elon Musk posted the news on Twitter, the theory that photovoltaic panels were useless instantly vanished.

Previously, some people said that Transsion Auto's photovoltaic panels were just a gimmick, that generating a few kilowatt-hours of electricity a day was useless, and that it took up the front hood, making the user experience terrible.

Now, no one says that anymore.

Because Tesla proved that photovoltaic panels can not only generate electricity, but generate it efficiently, and can contribute to a low-carbon lifestyle.

Shen Fei was drinking tea in his office when he saw the news.

"General Manager Shen, photovoltaic panel orders have increased by 40%." Huang Tianya pushed the door open and came in, his face full of uncontrollable smiles.

"As expected."

"By the way, there's one more thing. Tesla called just now. They said they want to talk to us about a partnership."

Shen Fei put down his teacup and looked at Huang Tianya with great interest.

"Musk?"

"He called personally; he is very interested in this technology, but judging by what he said, he seems to want to buy out the technology."

Shen Fei shook his head. "A buyout is impossible, but we can supply them. Tell him to come to Guangzhou to talk."

...

On May 19th, Transsion finally held its press conference, which had been postponed once.

During these 7 days of postponement, although there were many voices on the internet saying that Transsion was going to run away, most consumers firmly believed that this was because of Bosch's issues.

After all, if they hadn't blocked the ESP system, how could there be so many problems?

Although they had already received the punishment they deserved, many consumers had been going to their official website to curse them these past few days!

This time, Transsion did not participate in the auto show; instead, it held a very authentic offline press conference in the vehicle dispatch area of the Transsion Auto factory.

The popularity this time was very high; there were even teams livestreaming outside the Transsion Auto factory.

You have to know that this isn't the future where you can just livestream casually; livestreaming on the current 3G network almost makes you feel the smell of money burning.

Around 8:30, Shen Fei arrived backstage.

Zhang Bin was already waiting, but his head was covered in sweat.

"Boss, I'm a bit nervous," Zhang Bin said honestly.

Shen Fei patted his shoulder: "The last introduction was very good; just follow the same approach this time. Don't worry."

"But... the last time was technical banter; making a few mistakes was no problem. But this is an official press conference; what if I say something wrong..."

"It doesn't matter if you say something wrong. If the car is good, everything is good."

Shen Fei believed that current car owners were still very rational; besides, making a few mistakes didn't really matter.

After all, once the new energy era arrives, isn't it quite normal for car company bosses not to know technical parameters?

Mispronouncing names is just the most basic issue.

Not to mention the automotive industry, just take the mobile phone industry; bosses can mispronounce their own chips. Not mispronouncing the parameters, but the names... Everyone can be forgiving, right?

At 9:00 sharp, the sound system at the venue started playing, and Zhang Bin took a deep breath and walked up.

"Hello everyone, good morning! Today, Transsion Auto is officially launched."

A round of applause erupted from the audience.