Chapter 121: Peers are the Bare Hatred

Words : 1880 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

On the evening of October 4th, news that was originally for overseas markets finally made its way to the domestic audience. However, it did not cause much of a stir, as the fans' tolerance was still high, and they did not care much about the so-called spirit of the contract. Some even stood up and said, if Tesla couldn't deliver in 16 weeks, then 32 weeks would be fine. Why can't they give the technology pioneer company some time? Do they want to destroy the entire new energy industry? This view also gained a lot of support from netizens with likes. Lu Liang sighed and shook his head. Wall Street institutions had seen the truth and had begun to help create momentum, preparing to launch a major attack with sickles raised against Tesla. The Wall Street Journal and The Times, among many media outlets, had relayed the news, which was the best proof. They were all assisting Lu Liang in his palace coup. Once Tesla could not provide a satisfactory response, the harvesting sickle would swing down heavily. In contrast, the domestic fans were just poking at tires, their magnanimity made Lu Liang wonder whether these people had actually placed orders, or were just good at making cold remarks. After pondering for a moment, Lu Liang called Wang Xiaocong, ready to pour hot oil on the barely alive flame, not allowing Tesla to think that domestic fans were their backup. "Shooting my mouth off, that's my strong suit," Wang Xiaocong said with excitement, rubbing his hands in anticipation. He had never dreamed that he would be able to participate in a financial campaign against Tesla. Even if it was just providing assistance from the sidelines, it would be something to boast about in the future. Following Lu Liang's instructions, he reposted an article from People's Daily that was sourced from The Times. "Sitting at home and money comes from the sky?" The article Wang Xiaocong shared was about a lawsuit involving the Roadster sports car. Due to Musk's sudden price increase and delivery delay, 43 customers had united to sue Tesla, and they eventually won the lawsuit, receiving a total compensation of 15.4 million US dollars. Little Wang, known as the entertainment industry's discipline inspection commissioner, would raise his voice whenever he saw injustice. His pouring oil on the fire didn't seem particularly abrupt. Unexpectedly, as Little Wang posted his status, the comment section suddenly became a gathering place for new energy car-making forces. Old Jia was the first to comment, "LeEco has ordered four units; if Mr. Wang is interested, we can authorize you." Following close behind were Li Bing, Li Xiang, He Xiaopeng, and the official accounts of SAIC, BAIC, FAW, all expressing their support. As long as Wang Xiaocong took the lead in the charge, they would be his strongest backup. They would not take a penny of the compensation, but only wanted to demand an explanation for the vast consumer base. "Crap, what's going on here?" Wang Xiaocong's eyes widened in surprise, speechless. The frown on Lu Liang's face gradually relaxed, and a smile appeared on his lips, "Only peers have the rawest hate." Companies like Weiliao, which represented three new car-making forces, had a direct conflict with Tesla. Without Tesla's demise, it would be hard for them to rise to the top. Although they knew that such negative news wouldn't kill Tesla, any delay would be greatly welcomed. SAIC, BAIC, FAW as joint venture car representatives, knew the nation's introduction of Tesla was to give them a wake-up call. They harbored rage with nowhere to vent; so the chance to kick Tesla while it was down came at a perfect time. If Tesla were to die, they might continue counting money on their achievement list without the hard work of developing new energy vehicles. Everyone had different thoughts, but their goal was the same. "Liang, what should we do next?" Wang Xiaocong trembled with excitement, suddenly feeling backed by many big shots as if he could charge forward with an army of ten thousand to slay a demon. In the past, he could only stir up trouble in the entertainment industry, but he never imagined he'd have this honor one day. "Don't be timid, continue to be tough. If we need to contact law firms, then do so, making as much noise as possible," Lu Liang glanced at the time; the US stock market was about to open. He took out his phone to share the news, supporting Wang Xiaocong, then headed to the next trading room. In the internet era, information spread rapidly. Support from domestic automotive industry magnates for Wang Xiaocong, combined with their joint denunciation of Tesla, had already reached NASDAQ. Tesla's stock price dropped sharply in response, falling below 190 US dollars to the current price of 187.82 US dollars, with a decline of -3.82% for the day. With just the last 5.82 US dollars to go, Tesla was about to give up all the favorable news it had built up. Once it fell below 182 dollars, the downward channel for the stock would open, and it would be a continuous fall from there. Lu Liang noticed he was no longer fighting alone. Some retail investors had joined the bear camp. "At this point, still no response?" he followed Musk's Twitter as well as the official Tesla account. His trading account still held 578,000 shares, worth 108 million US dollars at the current price. Lu Liang was waiting for Tesla's response. If his response couldn't satisfy the public, he would represent the short sellers with the most ferocious hit, breaking through the $182 price point and opening a downward channel for the stock. Time ticked away, and before long, it was 1 a.m., 1 p.m. New York time, which is also one of the times when European and American public companies release important announcements. Lu Liang observed the market in the trading room while Little Wang had a fiery exchange outside the trading room with a die-hard supporter. Little Wang always had a knack for confrontation. Ten minutes past one, there was unusual activity in the trading book. Tesla, with no other choice, came forward to respond, starting with an explanation of why they didn't promptly update the Model X reservation numbers, mainly wanting to wait for a three-day cumulative announcement to share the good news. In three days, 72 hours, the global reservation volume reached 28,600 units, with 12,500 in China, and a cumulative total of 16,100 units from other countries, bringing the cumulative sales to $3.088 billion, with an average price of $108,000 per unit. As soon as the news was announced, uninformed retail investors jubilated, charging forward, and the stock price soared by 3.5%, breaking through $194, nearly turning green. "Sell, push the stock price back below $190." Lu Liang, without a second thought, took immediate action. A mere sell-off of less than 50,000 shares once again forcefully contained the rising trend. Within minutes, Tesla's situation had a dramatic reversal; the ascent halted before it could firmly establish itself, and the price instantly fell to $185. The day's decline was -5.42%. "The trend for short sellers has set in." Lu Liang's lips curved upward: "Intensify the sell-off, let's first try to penetrate the $182 defense line." This situation could only mean that Tesla's response failed to satisfy those lying in wait, and institutions began to enter the short selling battleground. After all, holding back for three days to release such news indicated they probably didn't want a repeat of the past, so they decided to drag their feet and think of a solution. Wall Street institutions saw through Tesla's intentions, and how could they allow Lu Liang to outshine them all? It was time for their performance. In an instant, the buy orders sharply decreased. A flood of sell orders overwhelmed the market, and while there were many investors buying to cover, there were even more chips being thrown into the sell-off. The stock price probed further down, nearing the $182 checkpoint. At this price level, it seemed as if massive funds were providing support, and a tug-of-war ensued between the bulls and the bears, with the short-sellers unable to secure a victory. Before long, it was 3:30 a.m., with just the last thirty minutes until the close of the day. The current stock price was $182.8. Lu Liang glanced at the total funds account; there were still 426,000 shares of chips left, with consumption already over half, approaching one-third. He knew he couldn't wait any longer. The end-of-day raid was just petty thievery—a strong suppression was necessary to show determination. The retail investors and speculators in the market were not fools; they were fine with following the major short-sellers in a charge, but they wouldn't let themselves be the only ones charging while the major short-sellers reaped the rewards. Lu Liang took matters into his own hands, with single transactions of 5,000 shares, at the current price of $912,500, crashing down on the market like rolling thunder. He made it clear that he was prepared to pay any price to forcibly open the downward channel. 10,000 shares... 30,000 shares... 60,000 shares... 80,000 shares... The trade details on the right side of the screen rapidly refreshed. At first, the bullish major players bought as much as was sold, putting up a fight to guard the $182 mark with determination. seaʀᴄh thё Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But then they realized they had overestimated their resolve to defend and underestimated the short-sellers' determination. In that moment of hesitation, the stock price suddenly broke through the $182 defense line, and even the $180 level could not hold. Lu Liang pressed the attack, intensifying the sell-off with single transactions valued over $2 million each. The bullish major players scattered, the stock price retreated, and upon seeing this, speculators sounded the charge. Musk had been closely monitoring market movements and had never felt thirty minutes to be so painfully long. At 4 a.m., a meaningless alarm sounded, marking the end of trading for the day on NASDAQ. Tesla's stock price finally closed at $169.25, a daily drop of -13.24%. Musk's heart bled; holding over 25%, he had seen $620 million evaporate today. But he also knew that getting anxious about the market cap evaporation was futile now. The problems of production capacity and financing needed solving. If the issues were not promptly addressed and the bad news once again turned into good, today's drop would only be the beginning. Those damn speculators of Wall Street would surely band together for an assault until Tesla was torn to shreds. Four years ago, at Tesla's initial public offering, Musk had experienced this once before, and the memory was still vivid. He would not let the tragedy happen again, absolutely not!

Chapter 121: Peers are the Bare Hatred

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