“Of course you were interested too. Come to think of it, you said they don’t offer service in Washington state, right?”
“That’s part of it, but I’m only in eighth grade anyway, so I couldn’t buy one even if I wanted to.”
Jaesung was admiring a red two-door car that looked like a spaceship, with such high air resistance, alongside the Musk brothers.
“You’re right, Washington state, where Seattle is, has colder weather on average than here. Batteries are heavily affected by temperature, so they’re more advantageous in warmer regions.”
“Come to think of it, Allen wrote a paper on high-performance super capacitors, didn’t he?”
“He’s also an expert on alloys. This car uses a lot of aluminum, magnesium, and lightweight reinforced plastic. That means they’ll lose money on every sale, so of course we have to support them.”
The California Air Resources Board passed a law in 1990 mandating zero-emission vehicle sales for automakers.
At the time, the world’s largest automaker, GM, was most affected and accelerated development of solar electric cars and mass-produced electric vehicles.
As a result, the GV-1, the world’s first mass-produced electric car, was born—a lightweight aluminum chassis weighing just 132kg, based on the GM EV1 platform, creating a two-door, two-seater compact coupe.
“It’s using lead-acid batteries. The range is only 89km—will that be okay?”
“They say you can charge it at home, so it should be fine for short commutes.”
Initially, it combined lead-acid batteries with an AC electric motor, but in ’98 they switched to high-performance lead-acid batteries, and starting with the second-generation model in 1999, it changed to lighter, better-performing nickel-metal hydride batteries.
“I think the design looks like a toy.”
“It’s all for aerodynamic efficiency. They sacrificed aesthetic design to focus on functionality.”
Though the exterior looked toy-like, it generously used expensive lightweight materials like magnesium-framed seats and lightweight reinforced plastic body, and since production volume was low, skilled craftsmen assembled each car by hand.
The GV1 was priced at $33,995, but purchase wasn’t possible—only long-term leasing. It was a lease format paying $399–549 per month for three years, and GM had built over 150 charging stations, making charging less difficult than expected.
Consumer response to the GV1, despite the not-so-cheap lease fees, was better than anticipated. However, developing a completely new car with expensive technology, plus changing battery types annually for performance and durability reasons, meant production costs exceeding $1 million for just 800 units sold, making it unprofitable.
They received zero-emission vehicle government subsidies, but it was still a market hard to profit from.
In the end, GM’s legal department decided to scrap them all, citing not just profitability issues but potential liability in accidents.
If GM had continued making electric cars, the global auto market would have changed, but coming too early, it vanished into history.
“You’ve come to see the newly advertised GV1. We’re only taking pre-orders now, with delivery scheduled for the end of the year.”
As they admired the car, a dealer approached and asked who would be leasing it.
Naturally, Jaesung thought the Musk brothers would step up, but both looked at him.
“These two gentlemen want to lease one each, so two vehicles. We’ll pay the deposit today.”
“James, I don’t have any money?”
“Just give me rides whenever I come to San Francisco.”
“Still, getting a car from a middle schooler isn’t right. So we don’t need two—one is enough.”
As expected, Allen Musk showed great interest in electric cars and didn’t reject Jaesung’s offer.
“Soon Yahoo will go public, and I’ll have plenty of money.”
“Yahoo is going public?”
“We’ve decided to do the IPO next month.”
Currently, most internet users had set Yahoo as their homepage, and it would IPO at $13 per share.
On the first trading day, it opened at $24.50—a 154% rise—and closed at $33 per share, with a market cap of $848 million.
Later, fueled by the dot-com bubble steroid, it peaked at $118.75 before the bubble burst. It survived the collapse but never recovered its peak, eventually yielding the throne to Google.
If my name had appeared in this IPO too, it might have raised suspicions—good thing I set up a corporation.
“That could happen. Then let’s contract for two. I’ll be waiting as your driver in San Francisco from now on.”
Thick-skinned and unashamed of owing a favor to young Jaesung, Allen Musk nodded, saying that as a major Yahoo shareholder, it wouldn’t be a burden, and asked to lease one for himself and one for his brother.
With full options, it came to $500 each per month—$1,000 total—but it wasn’t burdensome for Jaesung.
Since young Jaesung couldn’t sign the contracts himself, the Musk brothers signed each, and Jaesung would pay.
“We’re grateful, but are you really okay with this?”
“Actually, it’s not just a gift—there’s something I want to ask.”
Leaving the dealership, Jaesung made a somewhat difficult request to Musk.
“The truth is, I’m curious about the car’s structure. Could you disassemble it, analyze it, and make reverse-engineering blueprints?”
“Oh~! Are you sure that’s okay?”
“If you completely take it apart and disguise it as a wrecked car, they’ll replace it with a new one.”
“That’s a brilliant idea. I’ll analyze everything perfectly—from hardware to software—and tell you all about it.”
Part of Jaesung’s plan in leasing cars he couldn’t even drive was to let Allen gain experience with electric vehicles.
The auto industry is huge. Rather than challenging the entrenched internal combustion market head-on, creating a new one is the answer.
Though they had to wait until year-end, the Musk brothers danced the Macarena in joy at the thought of driving the latest tech-laden electric car.
Spending time with the exuberant pair, Jaesung’s dad arrived after finishing his conference, and they stopped by the busy NVIDIA to show their faces before returning to Seattle.
“So, you’re signing with Nike?”
“We haven’t signed yet, but talks are happening. This is a secret.”
While golfing with Tiger Woods, Jaesung told his dad that Woods was preparing a Nike deal.
Turning 20 this year and achieving a three-peat at the U.S. Amateur Championship, he had shown he could no longer stay amateur.
Even before turning pro, he was already drawing massive attention, and many sponsors watched the next golf star’s every move.
In particular, Nike co-founder and CEO Phil Knight was obsessed, saying he’d quit golf and send Woods to medical school if he didn’t sign him.
Anticipating that Nike’s current face, NBA superstar Michael Jordan, had little time left, Knight had found a diamond in the rough on the golf course, not basketball.
In the end, Tiger Woods signed a massive deal—more than even world No. 1 Greg Norman received—without even having a pro tour card yet, debuting spectacularly in pro golf with his “Hello, world” interview.
“So, how much is the Nike signing bonus?”
“It’s not finalized yet, and it’s secret—I can’t tell.”
“Roughly $40 million over five years.”
As Tiger prepared an approach shot, Jaesung named the exact amount, startling him—his hand shook, and the ball fell into the hazard.
“I’m good with numbers. You never told me, Tiger, so I’m not wrong.”
Groan~! “I know you’re no ordinary kid, but sometimes you’re scary.”
“Anyway, congrats in advance on your pro debut. Once the tour starts, you’ll be busy, and it’ll be hard to play together.”
“The tour runs year-round, so matching schedules separately won’t be easy.”
Jaesung joked that he’d personally sponsor Tiger if he couldn’t find one, expressing mild regret.
Tiger said he’d go watch if Woods played the West Coast PGA Tour, and they promised another round before his pro debut.
“You’re really turning pro. Though yeah, you’re too good to stay amateur.”
“Dad, your score is good enough for amateur tournaments too.”
“Golf is fun, but being a doctor suits me better as a career.”
After golfing with Tiger Woods and returning home to a routine without new investments, Jaesung got a call from Jeremy Yang and Dave Filo.
“James, we’re in New York’s Wall Street right now!”
“Congratulations. Tomorrow’s finally the IPO.”
“It’d be great if you were here too—too bad.”
“I have school. And my parents said it’s not good for my face to be known at such a young age.”
Dave said not to worry since Jaesung’s name wouldn’t appear.
“So you two are becoming billionaires too.”
“Will it really succeed?”
“You know Yahoo is bigger than Netscape. Don’t worry—just prepare for the huge success.”
The next day, as in history, Yahoo successfully went public, and the emergence of new young billionaires heated the dot-com bubble even more.
Jaesung, holding 10% of Yahoo, gained nearly $100 million in assets from Yahoo alone.
Investing early allowed him to get 10% for just $500,000—a nearly 200x return.
“James? This seems a bit strange.”
“It’s the No. 1 portal by internet market share—of course this performance is natural.”
“Even so, do you think it’s normal to succeed in three consecutive IPOs?”
“Internet-related businesses are really taking off—that’s why. There’ll be many more like this?”
As Yahoo exploded with its IPO, Warren Buffett, who had been prepared, called questioning Jaesung’s returns.
“Surely Amazon.com and eBay aren’t going public too?”
“Not right away, but soon, probably? And there’s NVIDIA too.”
“I looked into that one—it’ll need luck to go public.”
Managing the companies Jaesung held stakes in grew difficult with consecutive listings, but fortunately Berkshire Hathaway provided much help.
As calls with Warren Buffett increased, summer vacation approached, and this summer, instead of summer camp, Jaesung planned to go to Omaha where Buffett was.
“James?”
“It’s been a while. All good? I’m not joining camp this year—only my sister will go. I’ll send her to Arkansas after Omaha.”
“I already know that. I called today for something else.”
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