My Age of Investment

"Oh my god, it actually flew."

"It worked, it's amazing!"

"It's so cool, this is the transportation of the future!"

…

At a small private airport in Boston, a strange white aircraft took off into the sky, and the crowd on the ground suddenly burst into exclamations.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, the aircraft, which looked like a small plane, flew higher and higher until it turned into a small black spot in the sky.

Yin Fanka put down the telescope in his hand and glanced at Xia Jingxing beside him. The latter was still watching silently with a pair of telescopes, seemingly very interested in this aircraft.

"Don't look at it, it's already flying far away."

Hearing this, Xia Jingxing finally put down the telescope in his hand and said with a smile: "This is the first time I have seen a "flying car" take off, so I am inevitably a little curious."

"I'm also curious, would anyone be willing to buy this weird-looking aircraft and take it home?"

Yin Fanka spread his hands and said, "If it were me, I wouldn't dare to drive such an exciting vehicle."

Xia Jingxing smiled and said nothing.

After hearing Yin Fanka's words, a young white man walked over with a smile a few steps away, "Miss Friedrich is right to remind you that the next step for Terrafugia to improve its technology and products is to make it civilian, simple and... securitization.

When the Wright brothers invented the airplane 107 years ago, the outside world thought it was dangerous and unreliable. However, with continuous technological improvements, flying airplanes gradually became a fashionable aerial sport. Later, it became an important tool in changing human transportation.

I believe that our flying cars will also go through this development process, from being unknown to people to being a niche hobby, and then being loved by the public. "

Yin Fanka was a little dissatisfied. The reason why airplanes were popularized so quickly was because people at that time had no choice at all. Apart from airplanes, the only tools created by humans that could fly into the sky were hot air balloons and airships.

Nowadays, aircraft manufacturing technology is so mature. Who would choose to buy a flying car that has not been tested by the market and time? Are various small aircraft such as helicopters uncomfortable to ride on?

Yin Fanka knew that the flying car R\u0026D and manufacturing company called Terrafugia had Xia Jingxing's investment, so he just complained a few words in his mind without stating the various flaws.

Xia Jingxing smiled and looked at the man in front of him who was almost the same age as him and Yin Fanka.

This guy's name is Carl Dietrich. He graduated from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT with both a bachelor's degree and a doctorate. During his schooling, he participated in many spacecraft design competitions and won awards. He is a top academic in people's eyes.

But this guy not only has good academic performance, but also has strong practical skills. At the age of 17, he became a private pilot and aircraft designer with a driving license.

He is also a member of the American General Aviation Manufacturers Association's Committee on Simplified Vehicle Operations.

Having achieved so many honors at such a young age, of course he is going to have a big career.

So when he just graduated with his Ph.D. in 2006, Carl called four MIT classmates and together they founded the flying car R\u0026D and manufacturing company Terrafugia. The Latin semantics are "escape from the ground", and the Chinese translation is called "Terrafugia". "TaiLi flying car" and "TaiLi flying car".

Carl, who is determined to change the world, has been successful in starting a business. The first-generation flying car he developed successfully made a test flight last year.

However, being able to fly does not mean that the product can be turned into a commodity. Flying cars, which are both rough in appearance and interior, will still need to go through many product iterations and product polishing before they can be brought to the market, and market acceptance is also a problem.

Just when Carl was worried about the lack of R\u0026D funds for upgrades and iterations, DJI UAV, a subsidiary of China's Fuxing Industrial Holding Group, extended an olive branch to Taili Flying Car Company.

After negotiations and consultations, DJI invested US$2 million in the company and obtained 20% of the equity.

Therefore, Karl's attitude towards Xia Jingxing, the big benefactor, was still very respectful. Seeing that Xia Jingxing remained silent, he took the initiative and asked: "Darren, do you think there is anything that needs to be improved in our products?"

How could Xia Jingxing know this? He quickly waved to Li Zexiang and Wang Tao who were standing aside, called them both over, and said, "Karl asked me to give my opinion, but I am a layman on flying cars. It's better for you professionals to communicate more. .”

Li Zexiang said with a smile: "I think the biggest problem is getting on the road. It seems that the Taili flying car has not yet obtained the test certification from FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and FV (Federal Motor Vehicle Administration), right?"

Carl explained calmly: "We are already preparing for testing and certification. When the product completes the second iteration, we will officially submit the application materials.

I know many friends in the aviation circle, and they all believe that Taili flying cars can pass testing and certification. "

Li Zexiang nodded, and Wang Tao asked again: "After passing the test and certification, the next step is to officially launch the product. I heard that you plan to price one unit at US$278,000?"

"The Sword Comes"

Karl smiled and said: "Yes, the price is very cheap, lower than many manned aircraft.

But the sales volume is definitely not comparable to DJI’s drones, and your target customer group is much larger than ours. "

"In addition to selling flying cars, have you ever considered setting up your own fleet and engaging in aerial taxi business in the future?"

Li Zexiang glanced at Xia Jingxing. This was a concept proposed by Mr. Xia. Opening an aerial taxi company in the future sounded a bit sci-fi.

Karl was really stunned by this question. He thought for a long time before answering: "It sounds like a good idea, but how to implement it? Take a taxi while standing on the road or on the roof?"

Li Zexiang replied: "Perhaps your product design can be more "flying" and not put on the road, otherwise such a long wing will affect ground transportation operations."

Karl shook his head repeatedly, "Then it will completely degenerate into a plane and no longer be called a flying car."

Wang Tao said: "Electribsp;vertibsp;takeoffandol electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft is actually a good development direction. Just like in science fiction movies, it can land vertically from the air. It can bring earth-shaking changes to urban passenger transportation, freight and other industries. The change.

If it is only used as a personal means of transportation, I am afraid it will only attract a group of wealthy people who are looking for novelty to buy it for fun. It will be difficult to expand sales and income. Without sufficient operating cash flow, Taili Flying Car can only continue to choose financing..."

Wang Tao's words made Karl think deeply. If it were someone else criticizing his "child" like this, he would have started to complain.

But Wang Tao is no ordinary person. He is the founder and CEO of DJI Drone, which is well-known around the world.

Xia Jingxing was impressed by Wang Taoting. After several years of experience, this technical geek seemed to have matured a lot. He no longer indulged in product research and development, and began to understand issues from a business management perspective.

"Your proposal is very good, but changing the direction of product design is not a trivial matter. I need to think about it carefully and listen to the opinions of other founders and shareholders."

As soon as Karl finished speaking, he saw the flying car starting to descend from high altitude, and seemed to be preparing to land. After he apologized to everyone, he ran to direct the landing.

After Karl left, Li Zexiang and Wang Tao both looked at Xia Jingxing.

“Mr.

Xia Jingxing nodded slightly towards Li Zexiang, "It's up to them to listen or not. I always feel that their flying cars are a bit useless and don't seem like the right direction for future development."

A smile appeared on Li Zexiang's face, "Whether it is correct or not is determined step by step. This is a project that requires long-term investment and waiting for fruition."

Wang Tao glanced at the flying car that had landed and was slowly gliding on the ground, and said, "Mr. Xia, if they don't do what we want, can we start a new one and do it ourselves?"

Xia Jingxing glanced at Wang Tao in surprise, who grinned, "I think this business is related to our aerospace business group, and it should not be included in the automotive group's industry map.

And isn’t the electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft the DJI drone?

It's just that the manned aircraft you imagined, Mr. Xia, is larger, more powerful in terms of horsepower and battery life than our current products.

We are now developing industry- and industrial-grade drones, which are larger than current consumer-grade drones, while manned aircraft are larger than industrial-grade drones.

At the same time, manned flying cars are the intersection of the three major fields of automobiles, aviation, and new energy. They also have the most important application scenarios of new materials, artificial intelligence, and new generation information technology. For Fuxing Industrial Group, they are an extremely suitable match for us. industry.

In many fields such as mobile phones, computers, and automobiles, we are all followers. Perhaps we can overtake the flying car in a corner and become the world leader for a time. "

For fear that Xia Jingxing would not allow DJI to develop this flying car or manned aircraft, Wang Tao kept encouraging Xia Jingxing from the side.

Xia Jingxing waved his hand, "Okay, okay, stop talking, I'll let you do it! When you return to China, I will ask Deng Yuanjun to allocate a separate sum of money to you as a special fund for the research and development of flying cars.

However, you should not delay the development of drones because of the development of flying cars.

Drones belong to the present, while flying cars belong to the future. Don’t confuse the two. "

Wang Tao nodded hurriedly, and then he calculated in his mind with joy on his face. Now their aerospace business group is getting bigger and bigger. Although its size is still not comparable to the consumer electronics, smart home, and automobile sub-groups, he I think that what I produce are all high-end products, such as flying cars, launch vehicles...

Xia Jingxing had his own concerns. No matter how good the development of Taili Flying Car is, it is still an American company. It cannot have the convenience, safety and controllability of its own R\u0026D and production.

Moreover, what DJI plans to develop is an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which is different from the one developed by Taili Speeder, which takes off and lands by rolling.

The two have something in common. They are both developing in the direction of electrification and intelligence. However, the take-off conditions are more stringent and require a special airport or a closed and controlled runway. The flying car that DJI plans to develop is similar to a helicopter and can fly on the roof of a building or on a closed runway. Take off and land on open ground.

At this time, the prototype aircraft (vehicle) performing the aerial performance had already parked on the runway. Xia Jingxing and Yin Fanka stepped forward to watch it at close range.

At first glance, the prototype looks more like an airplane than a car.

It's just that it's not as slender and round as ordinary airplanes. It looks a bit like a frog, and it's also a frog with wings.

When the wings are folded, it finally looks like a car, but the wheels are particularly special. They are not placed on the chassis and are protected by the body shell, a bit like a formula car design.

When the driver of the flying car got out of the car, Karl approached the car and introduced the product in detail to Xia Jingxing and others who were following him.

It adopts a folding wing design, and the interior space can accommodate up to two adults including the driver.

The fuselage length is 6.02 meters, the width is 2.3 meters, the height is 1.98 meters, and the wingspan is 8 meters.

When the wings are fully folded, it is about the same size as a normal household SUV and can fit perfectly into any home garage.

In terms of power, it uses a hybrid engine, internal combustion engine + electric motor. The internal combustion engine has a maximum horsepower of 305 horses and the electric motor has a maximum horsepower of 608 horses. It does not need to use aviation fuel. It only needs to add 97 gasoline. The fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is about 11.87 liters. The top speed is 100 miles per hour. (161 kilometers) per hour, and the range can reach 400 miles (644 kilometers).

Xia Jingxing poked his head into the cockpit and took a look. He found that the space was indeed very small, almost like an ordinary car. He didn't know what it was like to drive it.

Carl saw Xia Jingxing's very interested expression and suggested, "Darren, would you like me to take you to heaven to experience it?"

Xia Jingxing coughed, smiled and waved his hands, "Forget it, I'll just take a look on the ground."

Karl smiled and did not continue to embarrass Xia Jingxing, saying: "Before officially driving this car, you still need to take a pilot's license.

There are many people in the United States with various types of pilot licenses, about 600,000. After excluding civil aviation pilots, there are about 200,000 people with various types of pilot licenses for fixed-wing aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft, gliders, etc., and the number of private jets also exceeds 200,000. .

If we can turn all these people into our customers, the commercialization of Taili flying cars will enter a new stage. "

Xia Jingxing smiled. He didn't want to hurt Karl, but to be honest, how many rich people would dare to ride in such a flying car?

Rich people are afraid of death. If the plane crashes, all their imperial hegemony will be in vain.

There is a long way to go to promote flying cars, which may take ten years.

"Karl, I think your main focus should be on cultivating the market and educating users."

Xia Jingxing bent down and got into the cockpit, looked around a few times, and then continued: "For example, invite some interested volunteers to test drive the flying car, and then post the relevant videos on YouTube.

Oh, by the way, you also need to register an official Facebook and Twitter account, and then update and introduce Taili Speed ​​​​from time to time.

We need to make this thing familiar to the public. Once the strangeness is gone, the sense of insecurity will be reduced.

This is not an easy task and requires perseverance, technological upgrades and time to build the brand bit by bit. "

After Karl thought for a moment, he said: "Okay! But I also have a merciless request."

"What?"

"I want you to be the first owner of the Taili Speeder."

Xia Jingxing felt a little dizzy after hearing this and asked, "Do you want me to fly it up into the sky and then take a video?"

Karl nodded slightly, and then asked expectantly: "Is it okay?"

Xia Jingxing didn't say anything. He was thinking about this problem seriously. If even his boss didn't dare to take this car, would the customers trust it? Will you buy it?

The flying car products developed by DJI in the future will also face such trust issues.

Who will be the first to eat crabs? Who is the boss of each flying car company? You must speak for your company yourself!

"No problem, I agreed... By the way, I would like to ask one more question, is there a parachute or ejection seat in the car? If not, you can consider installing one to give customers more care and the repurchase rate will be higher. .”