Only the final U.S. schedule remained.
It was a meeting with Musk of Tesla, who was creating an electric car to compete with the Apple Car.
For the electric vehicle market to grow, multiple companies needed to enter, and Musk's Tesla could be a strong running mate.
"Mr. Kim! It's been a long time!"
"Seeing you in the U.S. after meeting in the Marshall Islands feels quite different."
"Have you heard the news? The fifth rocket launch was a success. Even the U.S. Department of Defense told us to come back to America. And discussions with NASA are going very well."
It was the first successful rocket launch by a private company.
One success could be a fluke, but two consecutive successes had even NASA sending them love calls.
"The time for patience is over. You've worked hard all this while."
"You've worked harder than I have, Mr. Kim. You were the only one who believed in and supported a rocket launch that no one else trusted!"
"Of course, I believe in your rockets—and your electric cars as well."
"At first, it felt like a bit of a surprise. I never expected the Taewoo Group to join hands with Apple and unveil an electric car."
From Musk's perspective, it could have felt like an act of betrayal.
After all, the electric car was announced with Apple without so much as a word to him.
"It was an unavoidable choice to popularize the electric vehicle market."
"I understand. I realized that Tesla alone could not build the necessary EV infrastructure. In fact, thanks to the Apple Car, Tesla can now enter the electric vehicle market more easily."
Fortunately, Musk held no grudges.
It made sense—interest in electric cars had surged because of the Apple Car, and Tesla launching now could benefit from that synergy.
"Only if the Apple Car and Tesla grow together can the electric vehicle market expand. And for the U.S. government, American companies actively entering the EV market provides justification to invest more in infrastructure."
"Next month, we'll simultaneously unveil the Tesla S, a full-size sedan, and the second-generation Roadster, a sports car."
"These models aren't available in the Apple Car lineup, so we can capture a sizable share of the market. Taewoo Group will also provide extensive support for the new car launch."
Ultimately, all the profits were going into my pocket anyway.
Whether the Apple Car or Tesla sold better, the revenue flowed directly to me. There was no need to compete; in fact, the more support I provided, the greater the profit I could earn.
"Don't worry about the new car launch. Public attention is already high after the successful rocket launch, and with the Apple Car warming up the market, the media will naturally cover it extensively."
"I'll leave the car launch entirely to CEO Musk. I'll handle support from behind the scenes."
In truth, I didn't need to do much.
With the success of the rocket launch, Musk's recognition had skyrocketed, cementing his status as a star entrepreneur.
"I've already received a lot of help. From the automatic parking system to the software, everything was possible thanks to Taewoo Group. Especially on the software side, your support has been invaluable."
"The Apple Car is optimized for the iPhone, but Tesla's operating system is designed to be compatible with the iPhone as well as other smartphones, giving it a distinctive edge."
Apple users would naturally favor the Apple Car.
That's why it had to be iPhone-optimized. But Tesla didn't need to target only iPhones; its design ensured compatibility with all smartphones.
"However, while the U.S. market might respond well, I'm not sure how other markets will react."
"It will perform well in Europe too. But to enter the Asian market, particularly China, we'll need to build a factory there."
There was no alternative if we wanted subsidies from the Chinese government.
Even though the factory would eventually be dismantled, selling electric cars in China for a few years could yield profits dozens of times greater than the initial investment.
"We'll build a factory in China, but relying solely on one location there is too risky. So I'm considering expanding the scale of the Korean factory as well."
"Expanding the Korean factory isn't a bad option."
"Still, the main operations will be in China."
Manufacturing ultimately came down to labor costs.
Compared to China, labor in Korea was several times more expensive, so at this point, building the main factory in China made sense.
"Even just establishing a foothold in Korea will be a big help. Investment is important, but having factories spread across multiple locations also reduces risk."
"I understand that the factory under construction in Gyeonggi Province will be completed by early next year. I'll plan my visit to Korea around its completion."
"In that case, we'll wait and watch the new product launch in Korea."
With a handshake with Musk, the U.S. schedule came to an end.
Now, all that remained was to return to Korea and wait for the launch of Tesla and the Apple Car.
After a brief U.S. schedule, I returned to Korea.
Dodging the press with movements reminiscent of a military operation, I finally made it out of the airport and back to the company.
"You've worked hard! The Apple product launch has been reported almost in real time. Various media outlets have been publishing articles praising the chairman nonstop."
"This isn't the first time—it's a bit of an overreaction. How's the response to the Apple Car?"
One executive was ready to spew flattering remarks.
I quickly cut him off and focused on the situation in Korea.
"The response in Korea has been tremendous. Not only Taewoo Motors but even the Taewoo Group headquarters are paralyzed with inquiries about purchasing the Apple Car."
"It's not a company's duty to reject customer demand. Start the pre-orders this week."
"The government hasn't finalized the subsidy amount yet. If we start pre-orders now, before the subsidy policy is announced, won't the price feel burdensome?"
The Korean government had not yet confirmed the exact subsidy.
It was expected to range from 3 to 8 million won, reducing the effective vehicle price by more than 10%.
"Those willing to pay a higher price will place reservations now. Once the subsidy policy is finalized, we can accept additional reservations."
"But if we only take pre-orders in Korea, won't overseas customers feel excluded? It would be better to start reservations in the U.S., Europe, China, and even Saudi Arabia."
"Proceed as you suggest. With Taewoo IT's help, we can have the pre-order system ready within this week."
It wasn't an actual sale—just pre-orders.
Creating such a system could easily be done in a day, even without Minjung Cheon's participation.
Moreover, since both Taewoo and Kai Motors already operated new car reservation sites, only minor adjustments were necessary.
"Then let's keep the deposit at the usual 100,000 won."
"If reservations are free, false bookings could flood in. Charging 100,000 won seems reasonable."
The deposit would be fully refundable.
However, since the process involved two steps—reservation and refund—false reservations were expected to be minimal.
"We'll have the reservation site open within this week. Also, many customers are demanding to see the Apple Car in person."
"Of course, it must be displayed. You can't expect people to spend such a large amount on a car without seeing it firsthand. Display the Apple Car at Taewoo and Kia Motors showrooms. Also, coordinate with Apple to have it displayed in their stores."
"Do you mean displaying it in stores worldwide?"
"Start with stores in major cities of each country, and gradually expand the number of exhibition locations."
Apple Cars were already being produced diligently.
By the end-of-year official launch, it would be possible to accumulate 100,000 units in inventory.
Even if thousands were used as display vehicles, it wouldn't significantly affect the total stock.
"With sufficient inventory, it seems entirely feasible. Even with Apple's brand value, selling 100,000 units globally in just one month would be difficult, wouldn't it?"
"For smartphones, which cost less than a million won, it's normal to sell over a million units in a month. But cars, costing tens of millions of won, won't sell in such large numbers over a short period."
Honestly, just stocking 100,000 units was already insane.
Even combined, Taewoo and Kai Motors struggled to sell 100,000 units of a single model in a year.
Accumulating a year's worth of inventory meant that if it became dead stock, both companies would face enormous losses.
"Still, since market reactions aren't bad, it seems we can sell all inventory within a year. After the launch, we can decide whether to increase production based on the situation."
"It's a bit disappointing that China has to be excluded."
"Only products produced in China can receive subsidies, so the 100,000 units made in Korea and the U.S. cannot be sold there."
Apple Cars were being manufactured at factories in Korea and the U.S.
This stock had to be sold in global markets, excluding China.
Had we produced too many?
I briefly considered reducing production, but even if some inventory remained, I believed it would eventually all sell, so I didn't cut the production numbers.
***
One week later.
During that time, Apple Cars had been displayed in both Korean and U.S. stores.
Interest in the Apple Car remained high, causing the number of store visitors to triple.
Meanwhile, Taewoo IT's developers had completed a flawless pre-order website.
Today, Taewoo Motors and Kai Motors began simultaneous global pre-orders.
"Chairman! We have a serious problem!"
"What's the matter?"
The planning director suddenly rushed into the chairman's office.
Pale and panting, he continued.
"The pre-order site crashed due to a massive surge in traffic."
"Don't worry. Taewoo IT implemented a complete recovery system in case the server goes down. It will be back online within five minutes at most. But did the server really crash? Was there an attack?"
Taewoo Group had large-scale data centers.
They operated servers through contracts with major data centers in the U.S. and Hong Kong.
Under normal circumstances, the servers would never crash, so I suspected a possible DDoS attack from competitors.
"The security team says it wasn't a DDoS attack. It was simply an overwhelming number of users connecting simultaneously."
"Immediately increase the number of servers. If that's not possible, secure a new data center contract right away."
The servers crashed even though it wasn't a DDoS attack?
Normally, for a successful game or online service, a server crash at launch was considered a good omen.
How many Apple Car reservations would come in today?
I felt a pleasant thrill as I refreshed the Apple Car pre-order site.