After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future

"Just 224,000 shares left."

As the US stocks closed, Lu Liang also breathed a sigh of relief. In the final charge, he had thrown in a whopping 42 million chips.

Fortunately, they eventually broke through the 182 US Dollar defense line, gaining the support of retail, speculative investors, and institutions, and forcefully opening the downward channel.

Next, as long as Tesla didn't respond, the stock price would continue to fall, to a point where it couldn't fall any further.

Lu Liang would then welcome the harvest season.

In the past three days, a total of 874,000 shares were sold off, averaging a sell price of 186.2 US Dollars, cashing out 162 million US Dollars.

If repurchased at the current price of 169.25 US Dollars, ensuring the stock price didn't rebound, there would be a profit of 14 million US Dollars.

But Lu Liang knew this was just the beginning, the good days were still to come; the stock price would at least fall to around 100 US Dollars.

With the remaining 224,000 shares, he planned to control the board, ensuring that he gave back less of the profits already at his lips during the stock repurchase.

At five in the morning, as the sky began to brighten, Lu Liang and his team ended their count for the night. He left Wen Chao in the trading room to supervise everyone and walked out of the trading room alone.

Lu Liang shorting Tesla was the biggest positive news. Once they knew it was Lu Liang shorting, they would definitely bounce back.

Even if it meant spitting out profit that was practically in their mouths, they would want to crush Lu Liang's position. This was not just a matter of attitude but of stance.

It was like the time Old Guo resisted the Japanese; although they were on opposing sides, they also cooperated widely to jointly defend their homeland against foreign enemies.

Because they all knew that even if they fought bitterly to the point of heads breaking and blood flowing, the Chinese land would still be under the control of the Chinese. The meat might be rotten in the pot, but foreign enemies were different; they were there to invade and colonize.

Now, the institutions on Wall Street still thought Lu Liang was one of their own, someone who just didn't want to expose his identity, so they were willing to work with him to short Tesla.

Capital might not have borders, but capitalists have their strongholds, and Wall Street was their base.

Wall Street is also highly xenophobic, unless Lu Liang was willing to be their dog, like neighboring Samsung. Otherwise, there was no discussion.

Lu Liang went to the next office, and suddenly met a pair of blood-red eyes like those of a rabbit, excitement written all over the face.

"Why are you here again?" Lu Liang yawned, lying straight and without image on the sofa.

Little Wang was right; solid wood seats really did chafe one's backside, which is why he had bought another set of leather sofas.

In his free time, Lu Liang liked to lie on the sofa, feeling more comfortable than lying on a bed.

"What do you mean 'again'? I haven't left, okay!" Wang Xiaocong said with a face of disbelief.

Since eight o'clock last night, he had been online engaging in heated exchanges with Tesla zealots.

And all he got for it was this comment.

"It's been tough. Go back now; I'm tired."

Lu Liang said sleepily, voice listless.

But Wang Xiaocong, still irate, could only suggest, "How about we grab breakfast?"

"You're not a woman; why would I have breakfast with you?" Right now, Lu Liang only wanted to sleep.

Because during the day, he still needed to keep an eye on Tesla's actions, especially with the commotion Little Wang had caused.

Tesla had just signed an agreement with Modu's municipal government; they couldn't just sit back and do nothing. They would probably have to give some explanation.

After all, the benefits hadn't yet been received, and as the Lower Position, one had to fully play the part lest the cooperation fall through, which would be a truly devastating blow.

"Then you get some rest." Wang Xiaocong's words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them and left the office on his own.

Although Lu Liang had not made it clear, he had guessed that the main force shorting Tesla was probably Lu Liang.

Tesla's current market value still stood at 16.9 billion US Dollars, converting to over 100 billion RMB, and Modu had even allocated 200,000 square meters of land for investment and factory construction, signifying boundless potential.

A ruthless person, wielding his sword to slash through billions,

What could he do other than forgive him?

Wang Xiaocong was about to leave when suddenly Lu Liang's voice came from behind, "If someone else asks, just say you're pissed off; it sounds like something you could indeed pull off."

"Got it, I'm not a kid." Wang Xiaocong replied indignantly, as if he was the type to speak thoughtlessly.

"And turn off the lights on your way out, 3Q."

"Hmm~"

At ten in the morning, Tesla's domestic official account responded to Wang Xiaocong's criticism.

Who knows which genius was managing it; they expressed a willingness to refund the full deposit and looked forward to future cooperation.

An official apology statement like this might be overlooked if it were from an ordinary person, but Wang Xiaocong felt insulted.

Just got home and ready to sleep when he received the message, he bolted upright in bed, "Damn it, you looking down on me? Do you think I care about your paltry sum? What I want is fairness. You think a simple refund will do? This isn't over!"

Then he started another round of cursing, but unlike the irrational tantrum from last night, most netizens today were siding with Little Wang.

After all, as the son of the First Rich and the national heartthrob, he deserved some special treatment. It was as if he was being brushed off like a beggar.

Little Wang had every right to be angry.

On the evening of the 5th, Tesla's stock opened with a steep drop of 13.54 US Dollars, a decline of -8%, with the stock price at 155.71 US Dollars.

Lu Liang was constantly monitoring and continued to control the board by selling off holdings. Any sign of a rise was promptly suppressed.

With the help of the heavens, it only took 45,000 shares to break through the 150 US Dollar support line.

There were too many short sellers; they were like the logistics team.

On the evening of the 6th, Tesla dropped to 142 US Dollars, and individual investors seemed to think the stock had bottomed out, making tentative attempts to buy the dip.

After all, ModelX's sales were solid, and as long as Tesla could pull through this tough time, its stock was bound to soar high.

Yet before Lu Liang could act to suppress the stock price, news came from California; Wells Fargo had refused to grant Tesla a loan.

Morgan Bank was also urging Tesla to repay a loan of 130 million US Dollars from two years ago.

Once the news broke, Tesla's stock price fell again, this time breaking through the 140 US Dollar line of defense directly.

As one of Wall Street's major forces, Morgan's move also signified that some power players on Wall Street were shorting Tesla.

On the evening of the 7th, Tesla's stock price continued to fall, with the 130 US Dollar defense line nearly breached, leading to a tug-of-war between bulls and bears.

Lu Liang stood back and watched, not leading another charge because they only had 179,000 shares left to play with.

In about one or two business days, he planned to buy back the shares to square the accounts; he needed enough chips to cover the retreat.

With the stroke of the bell at four in the morning on the 8th, NASDAQ also concluded this week's trading.

Over the past five trading days, Tesla's stock price plummeted from the peak of 203.84 US Dollars on Monday to 130.15 US Dollars, a decrease of -36.26%, evaporating 6.9 billion US Dollars in market value.

Lu Liang wasn't idle over the weekend; upon waking up, he was trying to cook up a big news piece for Tesla.

He needed to buy back 919,000 shares, and if he had to buy them all at the 130 US Dollar stock price, it would require 119 million US Dollars in funds.

About 0.952% of the outstanding shares would be affected; the more joy there was in selling, the more pain there was in buying back.

Without major news, Tesla's stock price might not be surpressed and could even be front-run by Wall Street institutions.

So, in order not to lose the profits he had in his grasp, Lu Liang called a shareholders' meeting, bringing in Old Meng and Little Wang, hoping to brainstorm collectively.

"What if I find someone to set a fire in their California factory?" Old Meng squinted his eyes, looking vicious.

After all, with profits of tens of millions of US Dollars at stake, he wouldn't hesitate to commit arson or even murder.

But Lu shook his head, "It's too obvious, no go."

It wasn't that he disagreed, it was just that the intent would be too apparent, and certainly, someone would front-run the stock repurchase.

Especially since Tesla's order book now was so full of international speculators that it could leave one dizzied.

ModelX's sales loomed over the heads of all shorters like the sword of Damocles, ready to strike at any moment.

They had to believe that 130 US Dollars wasn't the bottom, and the market would continue to fall, allowing Lu Liang to quietly square the accounts.

"What about brake failure? Car accidents?"

"Anything that could be man-made intervention is out, it has to be the kind of event that can create a trend."

Lu Liang and Meng Changkun, one suggesting, the other dismissing, went back and forth in conversation.

Wang Xiaocong was like a mascot, his mind wandering.

After thinking for a long while, Lu Liang finally sighed. He didn't have a better idea and decided to use the most basic and clumsy method—buy less, sell more, and slowly grind it out over time.

A voice predicted that on the 18th, 96 US Dollars would be the lowest point.

It was probably around that time that Tesla would find a solution to its production capacity and capital issues, reversing the downward trend of the stock.

Monday was the 10th, and due to Lu Liang's involvement, events might be expedited, but there should still be a few days' time.

A few days were just enough to repurchase the stocks and balance the accounts; a profit was definitely assured, the question was just how much.

At this point, Little Wang, who had been daydreaming, suddenly asked, "Lu, have you ever considered getting personally involved? With your current fame, if you want to harvest, you should let yourself taste the sweetness first."

Assuming that Lu Liang wasn't just battling thin air and that Wall Street institutions were actually that xenophobic, he himself was actually the best bait.