When I am reborn, I just want to be a top student

The news that Wang Donglai and Musk had reached an agreement was known to only a very few people within Galaxy Technology.

The core terms of the agreement are clearly stated: Tesla will exchange all of its equity in the Shanghai Gigafactory and the Tesla Global Strategic Cooperation Agreement.

The so-called strategic cooperation agreement can be summarized in one sentence: all future Tesla global models, whether existing models or newly developed platforms, must be equipped with Galaxy Technology's products and technical support. From Xuanwu batteries to automotive semiconductors, from intelligent cockpit systems to autonomous driving domain controllers, all will be deeply technically integrated with Galaxy Technology.

In return, Galaxy Technology will engage in comprehensive cooperation with Tesla in the field of autonomous driving, using Galaxy's self-developed neural network processor and sensor fusion algorithm to help Tesla's fully autonomous driving system overcome technical bottlenecks at the fastest speed.

If this agreement is ultimately implemented, it will mean that the two largest players in the global new energy vehicle industry will form an unprecedentedly deep bond.

Musk acted faster than anyone expected.

As soon as the draft agreement was finalized, he convened a special meeting of the Tesla board of directors overnight on the other side of the ocean.

The meeting reportedly lasted from 9 p.m. local time until the early hours of the next day. Musk read every clause of the agreement to all the board members, word for word. Then, in his signature slow but authoritative tone, he said something that silenced the entire board for a long time: "Autonomous driving is the future we've bet on for years, Xuanwu Battery is our present, and Wang Donglai currently holds both our present and future in his hands. We have no choice!"

The board of directors ultimately passed the resolution by an overwhelming majority.

The next morning, Tesla's legal team sent a formal letter of intent to transfer equity to the Shanghai Municipal Government.

The response from Shanghai came quickly, polite in wording but clear in attitude: this matter is of great importance, and the three parties should meet in person.

Wang Donglai had not originally planned to personally attend this meeting.

Galaxy Technology's senior management team includes many skilled negotiators.

Xu Tianzhou earned a formidable reputation in the protracted battle between GalaxySpace and the three major European and American space agencies. From the director of the European Space Agency to the project manager of NASA, everyone had signed in front of him, and he meticulously crafted every word of every agreement.

The core members of the legal department are known for being uncompromising, scrutinizing the terms even more meticulously than the opposing party's own lawyers, and any one of them could hold the line.

At Galaxy Energy, Liao Qingfeng had decades of experience in the photovoltaic industry and had more experience dealing with local governments than anyone else in the company.

Although Baili Xiu of Yinhe Agriculture is usually not very talkative, he remained neither humble nor arrogant when facing the joint expert group from Beijing, and even convinced Academician Yuan Mingde.

But after having his assistant go through the entire roster of core executives, Wang Donglai decided to go himself.

The reason is simple: this matter is not a business-to-business interaction, but a three-way game.

Galaxy Technology is a super technology giant group both domestically and internationally, Tesla is overseas capital, and as for Shanghai, it goes without saying.

Its administrative rank is evident, its economic output surpasses that of many provinces, and its position in the national economic landscape is pivotal.

With Executive Vice President Sun Zhengqing personally overseeing the meeting, along with the Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Director of the Economic and Information Technology Commission, and district officials from the respective regions, this lineup suggests that the other party is not discussing technical details or supply chain terms, but rather the reshaping of the power structure.

At this level of negotiation, no authorized representative can cover the entire situation.

Some things the other party would only say to Wang Dong, and some decisions only Wang Dong could make on the spot.

If he doesn't show up, the negotiation process will be dragged on by endless excuses like "I need to ask for instructions".

The weather in Tangdu was excellent on the day of departure.

The sky was a clean blue, washed by the cold air of early winter, and the outline of the Qinling Mountains in the distance was as clear as a meticulous painting.

Wang Donglai's schedule was as tight as ever. At 8:00 a.m., he chaired the weekly strategic meeting at the headquarters of Galaxy Technology. At 9:30 a.m., he signed the equipment procurement approval form for Galaxy Energy's own factory in Shenzhen. At 10:00 a.m., he made a phone call with Baili Xiu to confirm the time node for the yield measurement and acceptance of super rice.

At 12:30 pm, his car drove out of the headquarters' underground parking garage and headed straight for Tangdu International Airport via the airport expressway.

There were only two people accompanying him.

One is Zhou Yan, the administrative assistant, who is in her early thirties, wears frameless glasses, and is meticulous in her work.

The other is Gu Huaizhi, the senior director of the legal department. He is in his forties, with half of his hair already gray. He speaks slowly and deliberately, but every word is as precise as a contract clause.

Gu Huaizhi was a specially recruited professional who has worked on everything from Galaxy Energy's battery patent strategy to Galaxy Aerospace's international technology licensing agreements. The total value of the international contracts he has handled exceeds one hundred billion US dollars.

Of course, this doesn't mean that he is the person Wang Donglai trusts the most. With Wa as a safety net, Wang Donglai only needs to choose someone with strong professional skills and someone he can approve of.

The flight was an ordinary commercial flight, and the cabin was in first class.

Wang Donglai did not use his private jet. Although Galaxy Technology could afford it, he never liked to put on a show where it was unnecessary.

He leaned back in his seat by the porthole, holding a freshly brewed cup of Longjing tea, his gaze fixed on the gradually shrinking outline of the Tang capital city below.

Zhuque Avenue is like a straight golden line. The 30,000 hand-painted lanterns on the inner side of the city wall form a red cloud under the afternoon sun. The upturned eaves of the Tang Dynasty imperial city outline the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty in the interplay of light and shadow.

Further away, a blinding spot of light reflected off the silver-gray facade of Galaxy Aerospace's headquarters building. Several aircraft in the engineering testing phase were parked on the rooftop takeoff and landing platform, their fuselages painted with serial numbers that had not yet been officially put into use.

He turned his gaze away from the window, opened the letter of intent for the transfer of Tesla shares that Gu Huaizhi had handed him, and went through the core terms again from beginning to end.

He had read the letter of intent several times, but each time he reopened it, he discovered new and noteworthy details.

“Deputy Chief Supervisor Sun Zhengqing is personally overseeing things at the Shanghai Municipal Government.”

Gu Huaizhi sat opposite him, adjusting his glasses, his tone as restrained as ever: "During the initial communication, their attitude was very clear: the 14.8 billion investment commitment was non-negotiable, and the land repossession rights must be retained. These two points were the bottom line; they used the phrase 'not open for discussion' on the phone. However, regarding the corporate income tax preferential period and annual tax amount, their wording was consistently vague, without providing specific final figures, only repeatedly emphasizing 'hoping the new plan would reflect the sincerity of both parties.' My personal judgment is that they left room for negotiation, but they are unwilling to make the first move regarding the scope and the consideration." Wang Donglai closed the letter of intent, picked up his teacup, took a sip of Longjing tea, and then spoke, his tone unhurried: "The word 'sincerity' at the negotiating table depends on who speaks first. If they speak first, they are waiting for us to make an offer. If we include one more thing in our offer, they will be less inclined to cut too much. As for what to include..."

Wang Donglai paused, not continuing, but glanced at Zhou Yan and said, "Tonight, help me find some data about the national sanitation industry, including the number of employees, average age, average salary, social security coverage, total local government funding, and actual arrival rate. The more detailed the better."

Zhou Yan quickly jotted it down in his memo without asking any further questions.

Gu Huaizhi also heard this, but he only raised his eyebrows slightly and said nothing.

The plane landed at Hongqiao Airport at 2:10 pm.

The city government sent a special car to pick us up. The person who came was a deputy director of the municipal government's reception office, surnamed Chen, who was in his forties. He was wearing a dark blue administrative jacket and was polite and attentive, but he didn't talk much.

After getting into the car, he briefly explained the meeting arrangements for the day: "Deputy Chief Supervisor Sun will be waiting for you at the Municipal Government this afternoon. The two sides will have preliminary consultations to finalize the basic framework. A casual dinner has been arranged for tonight. If we can't finish today, we'll continue tomorrow. Deputy Chief Supervisor Sun asked me to convey a message: he has come with sincerity and hopes that all three parties can take a step forward."

Wang Donglai nodded to indicate that he had received the message, then turned his gaze to the window.

The skyline of Shanghai unfolds slowly under the afternoon sun on both sides of the elevated highway. The three skyscrapers in Lujiazui resemble three sharp swords piercing the sky. The tower-shaped top of the Jin Mao Tower gleams with a metallic luster in the sunlight, and the glass curtain wall of the Shanghai World Financial Center reflects the blue of the entire sky.

The Huangpu River flows through the city like a dark green ribbon, with cargo ships and sightseeing cruise ships crisscrossing its surface, their horns muffled by the car windows, becoming distant background noise.

The granite walls of the Bund's international buildings gleam with a warm gray light in the sunlight, while the green copper roof of the Peace Hotel stands out among the buildings.

He had visited Shanghai many times, but he had never been able to like the city.

He prefers to stay in the laboratory or the factory.

The talks began promptly at 3 p.m. that day.

The location was a medium-sized conference room in the Shanghai Municipal Government office building. The building was not high up, but the security level was very high. There were people verifying identities at the elevator entrance, and the corridor outside the conference room was quiet with no unauthorized personnel in sight.

The conference room was simply and solemnly decorated. A panoramic photo of the Bund hung on the wall, taken from Pudong looking west. The Bund's buildings were shrouded in a golden mist in the morning light.

The table was clean. Apart from a bottle of water, each attendee had a neatly bound set of meeting materials in front of them, with the cover printed with "Tripartite Consultation Proposal on the Equity Change of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory".

The bottom right corner of the cover is marked with a red warning: "Internal document - Accessible only to attendees."

The lineup from Shanghai was top-notch: Executive Vice President Sun Zhengqing was personally present, wearing a dark gray executive jacket, with his white shirt collar buttoned up meticulously and his cuffs tightly fastened.

His hair was neatly combed, and his face carried the composure honed by years of administrative work, but his eyes were extremely sharp. When he spoke, his gaze would lock directly into the other person's eyes without flinching or avoiding them.

Seated next to him were Lu Jianming, director of the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, and Shen Hao, director of the Municipal Economic and Information Commission, and next to them were district officials from the area where the super factory is located.

Each person had a steaming cup of tea in front of them, but no one touched it.

Musk sat on the other side, his expression less flamboyant than usual, twirling a silver-cased pen in his hand, but his signature smile was nowhere to be seen today.

Sitting next to him were the head of Tesla's legal department and a gray-haired external lawyer, with a thick stack of documents spread out in front of them.

Wang Donglai sat on the other side of Sun Zhengqing, with Gu Huaizhi on his left and Zhou Yan on his right.

In front of Gu Huaizhi were a laptop and an open notebook, while Zhou Yan had a voice recorder and a spare power bank neatly arranged beside him.

Sun Zhengqing didn't beat around the bush; he directly opened the materials in front of him and began his presentation.

His opening remarks were extremely concise, every sentence packed with substance: "Mr. Wang, Mr. Musk, we are sitting here today to reach a mutually acceptable outcome for all three parties regarding the equity transfer of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory. Before that, on behalf of the Shanghai Municipal Government, I would like to clarify several core issues that we are most concerned about."

The terms he listed were unvarnished: First, the additional investment of 14.8 billion yuan promised by Tesla in the original investment agreement signed in 2018 remains unchanged. This figure represents the net investment after deducting land transfer fees and infrastructure construction subsidies. If the investment is not completed by the deadline, Shanghai has the right to reclaim the land and pursue penalties for breach of contract. This is the bottom line, and there is no room for discussion.

Second: The legal provisions regarding the right to reclaim land are retained unchanged, and the corresponding legal text has undergone three rounds of review. Any modification to a single word requires re-examination by the government's executive meeting.

Third: The preferential period for corporate income tax will be shortened by a certain number of years based on the original period. After the transition period ends, the normal tax rate will be restored. The specific number of years to be shortened can be discussed, but the general direction will not change.

Fourth: The total amount of taxes paid in Shanghai each year shall not be less than RMB 22.3 billion, and this figure needs to increase by a quantifiable percentage year by year, with a bank guarantee attached as a performance guarantee.

After stating these four points, he closed the document, crossed his hands on the table, and glanced at Wang Donglai and Musk on the screen: "These four points are our basic requirements for both parties undertaking the project, regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign capital, we treat them equally. Mr. Wang, you can raise any objections now."

Wang Donglai listened quietly to the entire content.

He sat in a relaxed posture, his back not completely against the chair back, but not leaning forward either, with his hands hanging naturally on the table.

He didn't interrupt once during the entire process, and he didn't even open the materials in front of him; he had already memorized those clauses perfectly.

After Sun Zhengqing finished speaking, he spoke calmly and deliberately, as if discussing a logically rigorous mathematical problem: "Manager Sun, the investment commitment of 14.8 billion remains unchanged, no problem. This figure was calculated jointly by Tesla and Shanghai City back then, and we respect the existing contract. The right to reclaim the land is retained, which is a legal obligation. After Galaxy Technology acquires Tesla's equity, it will assume all the original contract terms without any changes."

"The tax floor of 22.3 billion yuan will only be raised, not lowered, after Galaxy Technology takes over. The legal and tax teams will calculate the annually increasing percentage to provide a figure that meets both Shanghai's expectations and the company's actual operating pace. Bank guarantees can be issued, and the liaison team will finalize the details regarding the bank and the specific amount. Shortening the corporate income tax preferential period is reasonable. The tax incentives enjoyed by Tesla's Gigafactory in the early stages were earned with genuine sincerity from Shanghai. Now that production capacity is stable, the supply chain is mature, and market share has increased, the company's tax burden should be restored, and I have no objection to that."

After he finished speaking, he picked up the glass of water in front of him, took a sip, and added as he put the glass down, "However, I also have one condition."

The air in the conference room tightened subtly. (End of Chapter)