[Chapter 492: The Angry Big Guy]
The United States pressured oil prices, primarily targeting the Soviets. The survival of other oil-exporting countries wasn't their concern.
Optimistically, the oil tycoons in the desert could last five years; even if it were tough, three years wouldn't be a problem.
They didn't realize, whether knowingly or not, that it wasn't the case for Saddam. He wouldn't want to wait, not even three to five months.
As a member of OPEC, he began pushing for production cuts. If they didn't control the oil output soon, prices might drop back to around ten dollars a barrel.
From over thirty dollars, the price plunge meant their income decreased by seventy percent. Under these circumstances, the current prices were unsustainable.
What angered the big guy was that due to U.S. pressure, no one agreed to the cuts. Not only that, many OPEC member countries sneaked in increased oil production.
After all, the desert didn't offer much in terms of resources. With prices shrinking, they needed quantity to make up for it; otherwise, how could they maintain high social welfare?
The big guy was furious; for the past eight years, he had done nothing but fight. You can't just tell him to ramp up oil production overnight.
Moreover, it felt great to launch anti-ship missiles at super tankers, hitting them precisely. Now that he wasn't attacking anymore, it was time to take a loss.
Not willing to take a loss?
Great! Then they wouldn't buy your oil unless the price was rock-bottom. At the very least, they needed to recoup the losses from damaged tankers.
Of course, the Rockefellers were also suffering. Half of the oil companies in America belonged to them. The extent of their misfortune was clear.
Scaring off William White was a major irritation for them. If they could help it, they wished he would invest in the oil industry.
That guy made a fortune selling hardware; it wasn't a secret. But the use of those funds was unclear, raising their suspicions.
...
"Sell off some shares?"
"Hah, old man's gone money mad, Filson. Do I look stupid to you?"
"Ahem, sir, they might just be testing the waters. If oil drops to the ten dollar range, their losses will be severe."
"Forget about them. What's the situation with the oil companies?"
"It's not good. Left to their own devices, they won't last more than a year."
"Alright, keep a close watch. If they go under, we can swoop in and buy them up directly from the banks."
William White certainly wouldn't pass up this opportunity. Oil prices fluctuated; so what? This limited resource was non-renewable.
Diamonds and emeralds were tough to liquidate. If the investment was too large at once, the price would certainly tumble. Too much of anything diminishes its value.
...
William White was strategizing on how to acquire oil companies at a reasonable price. Saddam was getting restless, pondering robbing the neighboring Kuwait for a few barrels if necessary.
It's worth noting that after eight years of war, his brain was kind of fried. What kind of delusional thinking led him down the path of territorial expansion?
The Soviets had taken a beating in Afghanistan, and he still dared to try expanding? The mainstream world was all about peace; nonconformists like him were simply beyond reason.
The big guy made a critical error by attempting to suppress oil prices; this was part of a well-orchestrated U.S. plan. How could they allow him to stir up trouble at such a time?
He only wanted to rob his neighbor, but the U.S. wanted a fractured desert region. His demand to cut oil production was something the U.S. simply could not tolerate. There was no negotiation there.
The big guy was digging his own grave without a care in the world. What madness did he think he could accomplish? The U.S. knew full well what he intended.
And why did they let him?
Heh, weren't the previous oil crises largely due to them? When you realize you can't protect your own wealth, you'll make the right decision.
In that sense, the Soviets and the U.S. were quite similar. The Soviets were more direct, opting to seize things. The U.S. did the same but used their currency; protection fees were a given.
Everything that happened later showed the big guy acted like an undercover agent for the U.S. William White thought it necessary to award him a medal rather than hang him.
Alright, maybe the U.S. was looking to silence him.
...
When Tesla's B-class car was released, it snapped the American Big Three auto companies back to reality. Clearly, this wasn't just some rich guy's toy. Forget about competing with American automakers; even against the Japanese, the B101 still held an advantage.
The most baffling part? People were actually lining up.
For Americans, if a car took four weeks to arrive, they would mostly choose another brand.
But this time felt particularly special.
What? You say brand loyalty?
Let's not kid ourselves; that's nonexistent. Most wouldn't be able to tell you who Tesla was. If it had been Edison, maybe half could, but who knows?
The car was good, not too pricey, and seemed a bit sturdier than Japanese models. But none of this explained the current situation.
By this point, the Big Three finally recognized something was off. It wasn't that Americans wouldn't buy American cars; in most cases, they'd still prefer domestic products. A significant portion still felt that way.
Now, those potential customers had found their target.
What, you say that's not an American car?
Heh, Bentley and Aston Martin were now considered American cars too. The Big Three all owned numerous European brands; were those not also American?
Alright, even if they weren't, so what? The owner of that auto group was America's richest man; can't argue with that, right?
Not just American automakers were restless; the Japanese were too. They realized if they didn't act fast, maintaining their market share would be impossible.
Fortunately, the production capacity issues were hitting them hard. It wasn't just the B-class cars that had long wait times; the A-class cars couldn't guarantee stock either.
"This amazing young guy, I really want to know what our car companies are doing. Are they all just snoozing away?"
"Sir, the new model designs basically crashed and burned. I think they need a better car."
"Why? Why does it take GM two years to design a car while Tesla -- good grief, I don't even want to know how that works."
As GM was a heavily invested stock for the firm, the old man cared about its stock price quite a bit. He just couldn't wrap his head around how it all happened. If GM could do that, it would be unimaginable.
*****
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