Chapter 74. PureCell Day (3)

By this point, the audience began to sense something was off.

It was a question that wasn't really a question, but if Bread Button had just said that the test drive was real, it would have been over. However, for some reason, he kept dodging the question.

Both the audience and the reporters had the same thought.

"Why isn't he answering?"

To be precise, it wasn't that he wasn't answering, but that he couldn't.

This was an event with thousands of spectators.

If he lied here, he could be sued for fraud later. Therefore, he couldn't answer at all.

Murmurs of disapproval began to spread throughout the venue.

Bread Button raised his voice to prevent the reporter from speaking further.

"I will only take questions up to this point!"

Perhaps the situation could have been brought to a close right there. If it weren't for the moment when the burly black men stood up and shouted.

"Why aren't you answering?"

"What's the problem?"

"Did you really roll it down the hill?"

"Just say that the driving video is real!"

Then, voices of agreement erupted from the audience.

"Why can't you answer?"

"Something seems off."

"Answer!"

"Could it be...?"

First, he needed to calm the situation.

Bread Button signaled to the event staff.

The staff quickly moved to remove the reporter and the disruptive men.

However, at that moment, something unexpected happened. The black men leaped onto the stage.

"Let's check if this is a real hydrogen truck."

Bread Button shouted in shock.

"No! Stop them!"

The surprised staff tried to block them, but the burly men pushed them aside. As the staff and the men engaged in a physical struggle, Edward Benson stood in front of the truck.

The staff rushed at him, but another black man blocked them, and in the meantime, Edward grabbed the hood of the T2 FCV and lifted it with all his might.

"Yah!"

Crack!

With a powerful yell, the mounting brackets broke, and the hood was lifted.

The people in the venue gasped.

"Ah!"

"Oh!"

Barnett's eyes widened.

'What is this?'

The spot where the fuel cell stack should have been was completely empty.

In short, the truck was nothing more than a shell!

The audience simultaneously had the same question in their minds.

'Then, how did that large truck move?'

The question was quickly answered.

Edward pulled out the hidden wires from under the truck and showed them. No explanation was needed to understand what had happened.

The hydrogen truck had been powered by electricity from an external source!

Suddenly, the noisy venue fell silent.

In the cold silence, Bread Button shouted in panic.

"No, no, everyone. Don't misunderstand. This is just a model..."

But his excuse was drowned out by the loud voices from all around.

"What is this?"

"You said it was a new car?"

"How can a car be just a shell?"

"Was the article true?"

"Explain what happened right now!"

The audience stood up and shouted, and some rushed toward the stage.

The staff tried to block them, but it was futile.

Cornered, Bread Button fled the venue, and his escape was captured on camera and broadcast worldwide.

* * *

[(WST Exclusive) Thomas Motors: Innovation or Fraud?]

(Excerpt) ... The author of this report is David Rockhart, CEO of Continu Capital.

In an interview, he stated, "Thomas Motors is all a lie. Selling your stocks now is the only way to minimize your losses." He also said he would disclose all relevant information to prevent further losses to investors.

According to him, the T2 FCV unveiled at the event is not a real car but a non-functional model, and the GM share acquisition and hydrogen truck production collaboration have not actually taken place.

(Excerpt)

As everyone knows, Thomas Motors has not released a single car to date. Despite various announcements about hydrogen production, hydrogen refueling stations, and equity acquisitions in hydrogen startups, the company has no revenue model. Yet, CEO Bread Button received a $30 million performance bonus last year alone.

This was possible because investors' money kept flowing in.

David Rockhart pointed out that Thomas Motors operates in a typical Ponzi scheme structure.

As long as new investments keep coming in, there are no problems, but the moment investors stop putting in money and demand it back, the whole thing collapses like a house of cards.

Why did no one point out these issues?

The mainstream media bears significant responsibility. They were busy writing success stories about startups without proper fact-checking.

Thomas Motors is similar to Theranos in many ways.

Both raised money from investors by touting future value without any tangible results, relied on the CEO's personal popularity, and focused on large events and media publicity rather than technology development and production.

After the Theranos scandal, the media faced criticism for being complicit, and there were calls for self-reflection within the industry.

However, the media repeated the same mistake with Thomas Motors.

In the case of the T1 FCV video released by Thomas Motors, a simple experiment at the location would have revealed the truth.

Yet, not a single media outlet verified it, instead writing articles calling it a "hydrogen truck driving video." Some even wrote that the CEO said it was "driven," which he never did.

David Rockhart warned that this incident could be recorded as another fraud following Theranos and advised investors to be cautious.

After reading Trish O'Connor's article, Bread Button smashed things in his office and shouted.

"Argh! Damn it!"

He had been completely outsmarted by unknown individuals.

They must have planned this from the start when they entered the venue.

"What a disgrace!"

Money can turn lies into truth and make dreams a reality.

Investors were lining up to invest. Considering the bright future of hydrogen energy, the current losses were insignificant.

If they lacked technology, they could buy it with money.

They had formed alliances with various companies like Huaan Energy and GM and were continuously courting Daelyan Motors. By building a global value chain, they could truly produce hydrogen cars.

'It's still okay. I can still persuade the public and investors.'

He calmed himself and thought rationally.

He had faced countless crises before and overcame them all to grow the company to this point.

With a bit of spin, everything would return to normal.

'First, I need to announce a partnership with Huaan Energy and shift the focus there.'

Huaan Group holds 8.5% of Thomas Motors' shares. To prevent the value of their shares from falling, they would be willing to step in.

He was preparing to release a clarification to the media when a shocking news article appeared.

[Huaan Energy Announces Sale of All Thomas Motors Shares!]

[Hydrogen Infrastructure Collaboration Canceled!]

[Huaan Energy President Fang Shuhuan Claims Thomas Motors Violated Good Faith Principles]

[Huaan Energy Overseas Investment Team Leader Xu Minxiong: Can't Trust a Word from Bread Button]

[Huaan Energy Considering Legal Action Against Thomas Motors]

Bread Button's eyes widened in shock.

'Huaan Energy is canceling the agreement and selling all their shares?'

He couldn't believe it.

Xu Minxiong, the son of the Huaan Group chairman and team leader of Huaan Energy, was in the U.S. to discuss hydrogen infrastructure collaboration.

They had been discussing cooperation plans face-to-face just moments ago. How could this have happened?

'Now that I think about it...'

The reporter who asked questions at the venue was sent by Huaan Energy, as were the people with her.

'Could it be...?'

Bread Button immediately called Xu Minxiong, the team leader of Huaan Energy, and demanded an explanation.

"What's going on here?"

Xu Minxiong replied curtly.

"What do you mean?"

"Is it true that you sold all the shares?"

"Yes, it's true."

"Then what about the hydrogen infrastructure agreement?"

"Does it even make sense now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Without a hydrogen car, what's the point of building a hydrogen refueling station?"

"What?"

Xu Minxiong said coldly.

"You unveiled a car that was just a shell at the event."

"That's because of the circumstances..."

"I'm curious what circumstances made you hide it from me."

"I'll explain when we meet. Where are you now?"

"Before that, let me ask you something. The T1 FCV driving video you released. Was it really rolled down a hill? Be careful with your answer; I'm recording this."

"..."

Bread Button couldn't answer the question.

Xu Minxiong said as if he knew it would happen.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Please calm down..."

"Who are you, really? Is anything you've said true?"

Bread Button held back his urge to shout and said.

"Let's meet and talk."

"Fine. We'll check the false statements in the documents you sent to our company and sue you. Prepare for that."

"..."

* * *

[Thomas Motors' T2 FCV Exposed as a Model!]

[Disastrous PureCell Day Event]

[Was the T1 FCV Really Rolled Down a Hill?]

[CEO Bread Button Refuses to Answer Questions About Driving Video]

[Wall Street Times Releases Experiment Video from the Same Location!]

[Was the T1 FCV Really Rolled Down a Hill?]

[Trish O'Connor Conducts Exclusive Interview with Huaan Energy...]

[Thomas Motors Stock Plummets]

Just before the incident, Thomas Motors' stock was on the rise.

It had reached a high of $65. However, when the new car was revealed to be a model, the event turned into chaos.

As the scene was broadcast, the stock price plummeted by 30% almost instantly. Despite the shock, some buyers stepped in, and the price stabilized around $40.

While it's not common for events to go wrong, it's not unheard of.

Everyone was waiting for CEO Bread Button's explanation.

However...

Before any explanation could be given, Wall Street Times' Trish O'Connor released an interview with David Rockhart and various pieces of evidence.

Before the shock could subside, Huaan Energy announced that they were canceling the agreement and selling all their shares.

For the general public, it was difficult to determine whether Thomas Motors had unique technological capabilities.

The partnerships with major companies were seen as a guarantee of their technology, and Thomas Motors had marketed it as such.

But that guarantee had turned to nothing!

The most important partner turning their back caused Thomas Motors' stock to plummet.

The stock, which had reached $65, fell to $12 almost instantly.