188: Chapter 188 Global Conference, Project Shrouding the Sky!

Night fell like a giant black cloth over the entire city, but the conference room at Tesla's China Region headquarters remained brightly lit.

Zhu Danyang stood before the floor-to-ceiling window; the cigar between his fingers had burned to its end, the ash hanging precariously.

Outside were office buildings dotted with lights; the flickering glow seemed to mock his failure.

"Is everyone here?" He didn't look back, his voice as cold as ice.

The assistant nodded quickly. "The video conference with the North America Headquarters has been connected, and the head of the Europe Region is also online."

Zhu Danyang turned around and stubbed out his cigar in a crystal ashtray with a soft sizzle.

Around the massive conference table, over twenty executives were as silent as cicadas in winter, none daring to provoke him.

The projection screen still showed the morning's market analysis report, the red downward curve stinging everyone's eyes.

"Wang Sifu and Fanmi have reached a cooperation agreement."

Zhu Danyang spoke, his voice devoid of emotion. "They've formed something called the Huaxia New Energy Technology Alliance, with an initial funding of ten billion!"

After Wang Sifu and Lei Jun finished their talk at noon, he had obtained the details of their cooperation through special channels.

A collective gasp filled the conference room.

The head of the Europe Region frowned on the video screen. "President Zhu, isn't calling a global meeting over this a bit excessive? While BYD's Three-Electric technology combined with Fanmi's chip advantages will indeed pose a threat to our Model S, their supply chain..."

"I believe the situation is already very grim!" Zhu Danyang cut him off, his gaze sweeping across the room as he spoke in a low voice. "BYD's self-developed technology is currently leading on a global scale, and when you add Fanmi's R&D capabilities..."

"You should know that this company was founded less than two years ago, yet it has already emerged as a dark horse and a leader in the global smartphone sector. Moreover, they've achieved a fully self-developed industry chain for both mobile operating systems and high-end chips!!!"

"But no matter how formidable Fanmi is, it's only in the smartphone field, isn't it?" the Europe Region head remained dismissive.

"Your attitude is too arrogant!" Zhu Danyang shot a cold look at the blonde, blue-eyed man on the screen, his tone icy.

"A company with such strong R&D capabilities partnering with BYD is a powerhouse alliance... What makes you think Tesla can maintain its advantage and capture the Huaxia market under these circumstances?"

"Furthermore, I've received news that Fanmi has a superconducting material that can increase battery life by 30%. If this news is true, can any of you still sit there leisurely and enjoy the spectacle of my struggle?"

These words resounded in the conference room like a thunderclap.

The Director of Battery R&D at the North America Headquarters turned pale. "That's impossible! Our lab tested superconducting materials last year; the stability in low-temperature environments simply couldn't be resolved..."

"That's exactly why they're cooperating!" Zhu Danyang interrupted, tapping the table hard with his finger. "BYD has years of technical accumulation in new energy vehicles. If they truly conduct joint R&D, is it really impossible to solve that problem?"

"Now is not the time to discuss possibilities; it's time to find a way to dismantle their alliance!"

As he finished, the entire conference room fell silent once more.

Everyone fell silent, especially the heads from North America and Europe, whose eyes flickered with solemnity and uncertainty.

They didn't know if things were truly as Zhu Danyang described.

If they were, the situation was indeed dire.

They had to come up with a countermeasure as soon as possible.

Otherwise, their market share in the China Region would be in real jeopardy.

Zhu Danyang walked to the screen, grabbed a laser pointer, and spoke again. "My plan is this: starting now, terminate all contact with BYD. Notify the Legal Department to prepare all patent litigation materials. I want Fanmi to learn the meaning of intellectual property barriers!"

On the other end of the video, the Vice President of the North America Headquarters pushed up his glasses. "Zhu, the board just sent a notice. We can support your actions, but if the Model S's market share in the Huaxia market doesn't reach 20% within six months, you will need to..."

"I know what needs to be done!" Zhu Danyang gritted his teeth and interrupted, veins bulging on his forehead.

It was nothing more than dismissal, but how could he possibly accept such an end?

He had fought at Tesla for twelve years, rising from an ordinary engineer to the President of the China Region. He hadn't relied on luck, but on his tactics!

"I will reach out to the heads of the Dazhong Group and the Honda New Energy Business Division."

Zhu Danyang suddenly sneered. "Since they want to form a Huaxia alliance, we'll launch a global encirclement!"

"..."

At 10 PM, the Dazhong Huaxia headquarters building was already shrouded in darkness.

Only the President's office remained lit.

The President of Dazhong Asia received a call from Zhu Danyang.

"Mr. Herbert, I have a plan that can create a win-win situation for Tesla and Dazhong."

A calm voice came through the receiver. Zhu Danyang struggled to suppress his emotions as he spoke in a deep voice, "Tesla is willing to open up licensing for some of the underlying patents of our FSD assisted driving system in exchange for Dazhong joining us in boycotting the new energy vehicle standards set by BYD and Fanmi Company."

Herbert's hand holding the coffee cup paused.

"Zhu, do you know what this implies? The EU just passed a new energy trade agreement; an overt boycott would face massive fines."

"Fines?" Zhu Danyang sneered. "Compared to a 30% increase in battery life, what do those fines matter?"

"Once Fanmi's superconducting materials go into mass production, the battery technology of all our car companies will become obsolete. Do you want to watch Dazhong's layout in new energy vehicles fail miserably?"

The other end of the line fell silent.

Herbert's fingers unconsciously tapped the desk.

He naturally knew the value of superconducting materials. Dazhong was already prepared to invest ten billion euros in new energy vehicles; they couldn't let that go to waste...

"What is your plan?"

"Establish an open-source patent pool," Zhu Danyang said rapidly.

"We open up our assisted driving patents. As long as they join our alliance and contribute the technologies they excel at, all participating automakers can share these technologies. But the condition is that no one can adopt the Huaxia Alliance's battery standards. This is a technical race; only the winner gets to control the standards!!"

He had accurately gauged the weaknesses of these legacy automakers.

Giants like Dazhong and Honda might seem powerful, but in reality, they are faltering in their transition to new energy.

What they fear most is the disruption brought by technological iteration.

As long as a sufficiently tempting bait is thrown, these people will certainly join forces for self-preservation.

Sure enough, Herbert's voice wavered. "I need to discuss this with the board, but I can promise you for now that we won't consider cooperating with the Huaxia New Energy Technology Alliance before we make a decision."

"A wise choice."

Zhu Danyang hung up the phone, a smug smile appearing on his face.

He looked at his assistant. "Has there been a response from Honda?"

"We just received an email. They are willing to send a Vice President to the secret meeting in Tokyo next week."

The assistant handed over a tablet while reporting quickly, "Also, some good news: the bosses of three domestic second-tier battery manufacturers have arrived downstairs. They say they're willing to talk to us about exclusive supply deals."

Zhu Danyang straightened his tie, a sinister curl appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Bring them up!"

Zhu Danyang's plan wasn't just about uniting foreign automakers.

He also intended to use the power of capital to gradually dismantle domestic suppliers in Huaxia, eroding the survival space of Fanmi and BYD step by step.

Until one day, those two companies would find that they were surrounded by enemies on all sides, with only each other for company.

By then, his goal would be achieved.

He had given this plan a name.

Sky-Shrouding!

He wanted to single-handedly shroud the sky of Huaxia's new energy vehicle sector.

Making Tesla the only great enterprise standing at the summit!!