184: Chapter 184 This plan is a bit disgusting!

Tesla has gone viral.

Although it went viral for its clownish image, negative fame is still fame; there was no doubt about that.

But this wasn't the result Zhu Danyang wanted; for a car company, its external image determines the first impression the product makes on consumers.

The current situation was indeed very unfavorable for Tesla.

At this moment, he couldn't help but curse Liu Wei ten thousand times in his heart.

That idiot, it wasn't enough that he got himself locked up, he even left such a huge mess behind.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Zhu Danyang smashed his coffee cup onto the floor, the brown liquid splashing onto his polished leather shoes.

"Is the Marketing Department dead? Don't they have any response plans?"

The Marketing Manager hurried forward and handed over a report: "President Zhu, we checked BYD's sales data. Their sales last month increased by 40% year-on-year, mainly concentrated in models under 200,000. Our Model S is priced starting from 700,000; the audiences don't overlap at all."

"You mean..." Zhu Danyang's gaze sharpened.

"Partner with BYD." The manager lowered his voice. "They need high-end technology to seek a market breakthrough, and we need channels for the lower-tier markets. As long as we leak word of a partnership, it can divert attention from Fanmi and make consumers feel like we've 'localized'."

Zhu Danyang pondered for a moment and suddenly smiled: "Wang Sifu is a shrewd man; would he be willing to get mixed up with us?"

"How will we know if we don't try?" The manager pulled up a document. "According to our investigation, BYD is currently developing assisted driving technology and their in-car system is also encountering significant problems. This happens to be our advantage!"

"BYD has always had a good reputation for new energy vehicles in Huaxia. If they agree to cooperate, even without deep involvement, it will definitely have a huge restorative effect on our company image. The internet is forgetful; with bigger news, naturally, no one will remember the past..."

"Furthermore, once we actually reach a cooperation with BYD, we can jointly suppress Fanmi. By then, we and BYD will occupy both the high-end and mid-to-low-end markets, making it difficult for Fanmi to break in!"

Hearing this, Zhu Danyang also nodded slightly.

It had to be said, this plan sounded quite feasible.

But would BYD really cooperate with Tesla?

He wasn't sure about that.

After all, both sides would definitely be competitors in the future.

But if it was just a try, he felt it was worth a shot!

"Proceed with this matter!" he said calmly.

"Yes!"

At that moment, the factory manager ran over, holding an engineering schedule.

"President Zhu, the battery packaging line has been debugged. The welding machines imported from Germany will arrive at the port tomorrow. At this rate, trial production can begin in 25 days."

"The new car launch is set for half a month from now." Zhu Danyang's eyes brightened slightly, then he spoke in a low voice.

"Have the Public Relations Department release news saying Tesla will reach a strategic partnership with a 'well-known domestic car company' to jointly promote safety standards for new energy vehicles." He paused and added, "Schedule a time with BYD's President Wang; I'll talk to him personally."

The assistant looked at Zhu Danyang's grim profile, not quite understanding.

She actually thought the plan was good; after all, news had leaked last time that Fanmi's President Lei went to visit BYD, and his expression didn't seem great when he came out.

There was likely already a rift between the two companies.

In that case, the chance of BYD cooperating with Tesla should be even greater.

...

In the tea room of BYD's headquarters, Pu-erh tea in a Zisha teapot was steaming.

Wang Sifu held the invitation from Zhu Danyang, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table, a meaningful smile curling his lips.

"It feels like Zhu Danyang is turning to anyone he can in his desperation?" He pushed the invitation to Shi Xu. "He actually wants to cooperate with us. Looking at this, he clearly wants us to help stand up for him and suppress Fanmi at the same time. He's certainly calculated this well!"

Shi Xu quickly scanned the invitation, his brow furrowed: "Their Model S should go into mass production next month if nothing goes wrong. Tossing an olive branch now is clearly trying to use our influence to resolve their current PR crisis and stabilize the market. Should we just reject it?"

"Rejecting it would be no fun." Wang Sifu picked up his teacup, tea foam swirling on the surface.

"Haven't you noticed? To facilitate this cooperation, Zhu Danyang even mentioned collaborating on assisted driving and system optimization, calling it 'building safety standards.' He's clearly desperate, even willing to give up technology to tie us to their chariot!"

"It looks like he really feels the crisis!"

He paused and suddenly laughed: "However, it would be quite impolite to reject such kindness directly. Reply to President Zhu saying it's a major matter and we need to convene the directors for a meeting. Let's stall him for a few days first."

Shi Xu's eyes lit up: "Are you planning to repair the gallery roads while secretly crossing the Chencang?"

"Nothing so fancy, I just want to tease them!" Wang Sifu picked up his phone and found Lei Jun's name in his contacts. "Tesla likes to play at hunting; then we'll play along with them!"

The moment the call connected, Lei Jun's voice came through with a smile: "President Wang is calling at this time; I'm guessing it's about Tesla?"

Wang Sifu raised an eyebrow: "Your Fanmi's intelligence network is quite something!"

"It's not intelligence, it's a guess." The roar of machinery came from Lei Jun's end, sounding like he was at a construction site. "With online public opinion so unfavorable to them, they'll definitely find a way to divert attention. Since they targeted Fanmi so much before, it's only normal they'd pull you in for cooperation."

"President Lei is indeed sharp. Tesla really does intend to cooperate with BYD, but the specific details aren't clear yet?" Wang Sifu sipped his tea and smiled, his finger tapping the edge of the table. "What does President Lei think we should do?"

"Simple!" Lei Jun's tone remained cheerful. "Play the part fully. They want to use your reputation to salvage their image, so just go with the flow. Isn't there a New Energy Vehicle Forum next week? Mention 'the legality of business warfare and healthy competition' a few times when you're on stage to help make him even more famous!"

"This tactic of yours is a bit disgusting! Hahaha!" Hearing this, Wang Sifu couldn't help but laugh.

"Who told them to target Fanmi like that, and even produce such a 'talent'..." Lei Jun also laughed.

"In that case, once the car forum is over, Tesla will probably hate my guts!"

"They came to you clearly wanting you to wipe their ass for them. Don't you find that disgusting..."

"..." Wang Sifu fell silent. Thinking about it that way, it really was incredibly disgusting.

Next, the two chatted about the progress of technical cooperation and the construction of the Fanmi factory.

When talking about the equipment being sanctioned and having to build it themselves, Wang Sifu suddenly remembered something.

"The news about the US Department of Commerce ban was quite a stir recently. You must have been affected quite a bit. If you're really going to build the production line yourselves, are you confident? If not, I can buy a batch of equipment for you?"

"No, the control over importing equipment from abroad is too strict now. Once discovered, you'll definitely be implicated as well!" Lei Jun declined with a smile, then his tone became more serious: "We've already decided to build the equipment ourselves and complete the construction of the entire production line!"

"Build it all yourselves?" Wang Sifu was stunned for a moment.

"Yes!" Lei Jun responded firmly.

"..." Wang Sifu fell into silence, shock welling up in his heart.

Having worked in the new energy vehicle field for so many years, he knew very well how difficult it was to achieve full-link self-developed manufacturing for an entire production line.

Even though BYD had already invested a massive amount of money, they still couldn't achieve complete localization of the entire vehicle.

And Fanmi was just starting out...

In such a short time, it was almost an impossible project!