[(Breaking) Nikola Files for Bankruptcy Protection!]
[Nikola Dethroned from the EV Throne]
[Model TM Pre-order Cancellations Continue...]
[Nikola's Chances of Recovery?]
[Will the US Government Step in with Financial Support?]
The news of Nikola filing for bankruptcy protection sent shockwaves not only through the auto industry but across the globe.
A corporate giant, once hailed as the most innovative, had collapsed in an instant.
The automotive industry employs many people and has a large downstream industry. Therefore, whenever a crisis occurs, governments typically step in to provide support. The US bailout of GM and Ford during the financial crisis is a prime example.
Nikola's production volume was relatively small, meaning its workforce was also smaller. Still, it employed 40,000 people and possessed massive production facilities.
The largest among these was the Gigaplant, a battery factory built as a joint investment with Technics. Upon completion, its projected production capacity was equivalent to the entire global lithium-ion battery output.
The original plan was to significantly lower battery prices through mass production, thereby boosting EV competitiveness, and sell surplus batteries to other car companies. However, this plan was completely derailed when TS Company began mass-producing OTK batteries.
Taek-gyu said, "If its market cap is only $12 billion, couldn't we just acquire it? We could probably do it just with the money we squeezed out of Japan."
"You have to add the debt to that."
Acquiring a company means taking on its debts as well.
Nikola had issued a total of $13.8 billion in bonds. Of this, $400 million had already matured, and another $1.2 billion needed to be repaid within six months.
Nikola had never turned a profit since its founding and had continuously raised external funds. Especially in recent years, bond issuances had far outnumbered new share issuances.
The more bonds issued, the higher the interest rate. Due to the continuous issuance of corporate bonds, the interest rate on their 3-year bonds soared to as high as 7.3%. This was practically junk bond level, and indeed, credit rating agencies assigned them a CCC rating.
Despite this, the corporate bonds sold like hotcakes. This was because they offered five to six times the market interest rate, coupled with a rosy outlook for Nikola. The consensus was that since the market cap was steadily rising, there was no risk of not getting the bonds repaid.
However, after the Big One, Nikola began to falter, and its corporate bonds traded below face value. When they ultimately failed to repay the maturing bonds, the bond prices instantly plummeted by more than half.
Allen Eberhardt personally visited the bondholders, explained the situation, and requested their agreement for a rollover. With no immediate way to get repaid, the major bondholders had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
Most investors and experts viewed Nikola's chances of recovery as low.
The Model TM was being overshadowed by the AD3 and AD4. NCM batteries had become outdated technology after the emergence of OTK batteries.
Everyone said the only way for Nikola to survive was to sell off unnecessary assets and form a partnership with CarOS, similar to GM and Ford.
Nikola's autonomous driving and battery technologies were already obsolete. The charging infrastructure might still be useful... but that was something we could easily build with our own capital and technology.
All this time, Allen Eberhardt had disparaged CarOS's technology and hurled insults at me. It was a defensive move against the emergence of a powerful competitor. But now, he was reduced to scrambling around, begging for money to save his company.
Seeing this, I was reminded once again that there are no eternal winners or losers in the market. Just because someone was successful once doesn't mean they'll continue to be successful.
If Nikola truly went bankrupt, the fallout would be significant, but with the Big Three having recovered, it should be manageable. However, preventing its core technologies from being sold off to foreign entities would be crucial.
Investors wrung their hands, and financial institutions that had bought Nikola's corporate bonds debated whether to write them off as bad debt.
I muttered to myself, "What would have happened if I hadn't invested in CarOS?"
"If you hadn't, CarOS would have gone bankrupt and disappeared long ago, and Nikola would be doing incredibly well right now."
"I suppose so, right?"
Thinking about it, so much has changed because of me.
What kind of ripple effects will this event cause later on?
***
After concluding the trade dispute with China, Ronald pressed forward with trade negotiations with Canada and Mexico.
These two countries are the US's second and third largest trading partners.
Having witnessed China getting thoroughly roughed up, Canada and Mexico accepted most of the US demands and signed the agreements. The next target was the fourth-largest trading partner: Japan.
Ronald pressured Japan, arguing that the previous administration's tolerance of the weak yen had increased the trade deficit with Japan, leading to the collapse of American manufacturing.
The demands were primarily twofold: halt the yen's depreciation through quantitative easing, and resolve the trade deficit. He threatened to designate Japan as a currency manipulator if they didn't comply.
Japan indicated its willingness to make concessions in the goods sector as much as possible, but the US insisted that areas where America had an advantage, such as finance, services, and intellectual property rights, must also be included on the negotiating table.
Japan is a unique market, often described as Galapagos. This applies to automobiles as well, where non-tariff barriers are more significant than tariffs. The Kei car (light automobile) standards alone were difficult for anyone except Japanese automakers to meet.
Ronald intended to use this opportunity to completely dismantle non-tariff barriers as well. Japan hastily formed a negotiation team and began efforts to appease the US.
With expectations that Japan would halt quantitative easing and raise interest rates, the yen continued to strengthen, and the Nikkei index fell day after day.
It took less than a month for the yen, which had fallen over several years since Prime Minister Okazaki took office, to return to its original level. The rise was so steep it evoked nightmares of the Plaza Accord.
Ellie finished work and came straight over to our building.
Since we started living together, we commuted together whenever our schedules aligned. The dating rumors had surfaced long ago, and the fact that we were living together quickly became known through the media.
We no longer needed to worry about others' opinions and enjoyed dating comfortably, although the giregi followed us wherever we went.
I said to Taek-gyu, "Let's go get dinner together."
"Nah, I have plans."
"Plans? With who?"
"I'm meeting Ha-young today."
"Ah, you're meeting today."
"See you at home later."
After Taek-gyu left first, Ellie quickly asked, "Are things going well between them?"
"I guess they're meeting each other because they're interested, right?"
Ellie beamed as if it were her own good news. "That's great. Taek-gyu needs to meet a good woman soon too."
"Come to think of it, I think he's still keeping in touch with Yang Ha-na."
"Ah! The CL Group chairman's granddaughter?"
"Yes."
According to Sang-yeop sunbae, quite a few women in the business world are interested in Oh Taek-gyu. To exaggerate slightly, they're lining up.
He's a very popular otaku.
Ellie asked, "What should we have for dinner?"
"Hmm. Fi..."
Ellie smiled sweetly and said, "I'll kill you if you mention fish and chips."
"...zza? Sang-yeop sunbae mentioned a good place in Apgujeong."
(For the record, that pizza place apparently also sells fish and chips. Probably shouldn't mention that right now, right?)
***
Several months had passed since the Jeil Gold Coin incident that shook South Korea ended. The main culprits, Ham Soon-pyo and Choi Nam-woo, were detained and awaiting trial, and the other key figures had also been arrested.
However, this didn't mean pyramid schemes involving coins had completely disappeared. While not on the scale of Jeil Gold Coin, incidents popped up every now and then. Seeing this, it's clear why South Korea deserves its reputation as a "coin paradise" or "pyramid scheme paradise."
Anyway, Min Ha-young, who escaped the "Dungeon of Pyramid Schemes", thanks to Taek-gyu, diligently returned to drawing her webtoon.
Drawing a webtoon based on the world of a globally famous game is a great stroke of luck, as it can attract game users as readers. However, it doesn't guarantee success.
Her art style was definitely good, but the problem was the story. Taek-gyu clearly understood the Lost Fantasy universe and knew how to capture readers' attention.
Taek-gyu periodically met with Min Ha-young to offer advice, and she listened attentively, noting areas for improvement.
After discussing work, the two moved to a nearby pub for dinner and drinks.
"The friend I live with started living with his girlfriend recently."
"Isn't that inconvenient?"
"In what way?"
"If you live in the same house, won't you run into each other often? The bathroom situation, dividing chores, those things."
Taek-gyu shook his head. "Not really. We have separate rooms on the first and second floors, and there are more than enough bathrooms for one per person. Plus, we have housekeepers who handle the chores."
"..."
Min Ha-young was speechless.
'Where on earth does this guy live? Some kind of mansion?'
Then again, he could easily deposit or withdraw 10 billion won from his bank account. And he knew people like the Bansum CEO and officials from OTK Games. She had asked him several times what he did for work out of curiosity, but he only vaguely mentioned that his friend ran a business and he knew people through that, never giving details.
At that moment, an alarm went off on Taek-gyu's phone, which was on the table. Min Ha-young glanced over and saw the name 'Hana' pop up.
"Hana? Who's Hana?"
"Oh. Yang Ha-na. Met her briefly before, and she occasionally contacts me since then."
'A woman he met briefly contacts him?'
"Really? Let me see."
Taek-gyu showed her his phone.
[You must be very busy lately, right? Cheer up! I'm rooting for you!]
[Got my hair done, what do you think?]
[The fine dust is bad today, so make sure to wear a mask if you go out~]
[Chef Shin Chan-ho from the Dragon Carlton Hotel apparently opened a new sushi place near Dosan Park. Let's go eat there together sometime when you have time.]
[My dad bought me a new car this time. But I'm terrible at driving, it's a disaster ㅜㅜ I wish someone could teach me...]
Most messages were initiated by the woman, with Taek-gyu giving short replies.
She occasionally sent photos too. Opening one, Min Ha-young gasped; she was stunningly beautiful. A small, slender face with distinct features. Her skin was pale and flawless. She easily outshone most idols or actresses. Furthermore, the clothes, accessories, and bags she wore were all luxury brands, and the car her father supposedly bought her was a Bentley!
Judging solely by the messages, it looked like the woman was unilaterally trying to arrange meetings.
'Why is this woman acting like this towards Taek-gyu?'
No matter how she thought about it, the situation didn't make sense. Then it suddenly occurred to her that she might have seen the photos somewhere on social media.
'Wait. Could it be...?'
As far as she knew, Taek-gyu used two or three phones. It would be easy to fake messages on another phone to pretend he was corresponding with a woman.
Min Ha-young smirked. 'Is he doing this to pretend he's popular with women in front of me?'
Taek-gyu asked, looking clueless, "Why are you laughing?"
"Oh, it's nothing."
'What the? He's kind of cute when he does stuff like this. He should just tell me he likes me.'
Just then, a male voice came from behind. "Hey! Aren't you Min Ha-young?"
Turning around, she saw a tall, rather handsome young man in his twenties standing there. He was neatly dressed in a suit and held a briefcase.
Min Ha-young was startled to see his face. "Kwak Do-hoon?"
It was none other than a high school classmate; they were in the same class in their second year.
"Wow! Fancy meeting you here."
Kwak Do-hoon, initially pleased, looked surprised when he saw Taek-gyu sitting opposite her. "Hey! You're that otaku, right? Oh, Oh Taek-gyu."
"Uh, yeah. Long time no see."
Taek-gyu greeted him with a stiff expression. He didn't have fond memories of Kwak Do-hoon. While he hadn't been subjected to assault or severe bullying, he recalled being moderately ignored and teased.
'I think I bought him snacks from the school store a few times too.'
Whether he remembered those times or not, Kwak Do-hoon greeted him cheerfully. "Wow! You lost a lot of weight. Almost didn't recognize you. You were a total pimply pig back in high school. Guess we can drop the 'pimple' and 'pig' from 'pimple-faced otaku pig' now. Still doing your otaku stuff these days?"