Li Auto Deleted The ES9 Video, NIO Hits Two June Milestones & The Bear Case Questions Worth Asking

Four stories today — starting with the controversydominating Chinese automotive social media right now.Li Auto posted a chassis comparison video on theirofficial platform comparing the Li L9 Livis to theNIO ES9. The video was designed to make the ES9 lookinferior. NIO's VP of Branding Ma Lin went public onWeibo and challenged the video's authenticity — statingthat what it showed was physically impossible given theES9's suspension specifications. Li Auto deleted thevideo without responding. This is not the first time.The pattern is a company under sales pressure reachingfor competitive tactics that keep backfiring. Li Auto'syear-over-year sales have been falling for most of thepast 12 months. A company that is winning doesn't needto manufacture evidence against a competitor.NIO president Qin Lihong confirmed the All-New ES8 willcomplete its 120,000th delivery in June. At the same timethe ES9 hits its 10,000th delivery — in its very firstfull month of production. Two milestones. Same month.The barbell is working. NIO June total deliveries areexpected to top 40,000 units.My Discord raised the honest bear case questions thisweek. NIO is running on a few demand engines. If thoseslow down without new ones behind them Q3 and Q4 getscomplicated. The R&D restructuring concern — subsidiariesabsorbing innovation spend off the consolidated books —is a real question. Is profitability being achieved byweakening the long-term innovation engine? I don't wantthat trade. NIO's approach is more conservative thanXpeng's physical AI moonshot. Conservative can be right.Conservative can also mean getting outflanked. The juryis still out and these questions deserve honest answers.NIO fell 5.8% on the week because the May jobs reportdoubled consensus at 172,000 added. The 10-year yieldspiked to 4.54%. "Good news is bad news" — strong jobsmeans the Fed doesn't cut. Kevin Warsh walks into a ratehike environment nobody expected. This is a macro storynot a NIO thesis story. Watch oil. Watch the Iran deal.That's your real signal.📖 Dial Tone: A Modern Salesman's Story — my debut novel.A novel for everyone quietly wondering if there's more.E-Book pre-order available now. Hard copy June 12th.🔗 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H1VRFS5R---📊 Moomoo US: Up to $1000 in NVDA shares with deposit+ limited time 8.1% APY🔗 https://start.moomoo.com/0AY120Terms and Conditions apply. Securities offered through MFI,Member FINRA/SIPC. See Full Disclosures:https://invest.us.moomoo.com/_disclosurePromo 8.1% APY is for new users only. Cash Sweep Required.Rates may change. Actual APY may vary. Moomoo is not a bank.Click the link for Bank List and Program Terms.🔐 Nord Security:- NordVPN: https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902- NordPass: https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356💬 Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wRCourtside Financial. Hosted by Obi.