Courtside Financial Podcast

Four stories today — all connected to what mattersfor your portfolio right now.Tomorrow the Onvo L80 officially launches. NIO's directanswer to Tesla's Model Y — priced below it, with batteryswap included, and Morgan Stanley projecting Onvo reaches30% of NIO group deliveries in Q2 up from 16% in Q1.William Li confirmed deposit flow was already exceedinginternal forecasts before the official launch.ES9 deliveries start May 27th. The L60 facelift haspre-sales coming late May with an official launch in June.That's four major NIO and Onvo product launches in asingle quarter — the most aggressive product calendarin company history.Today NIO pushed the Aster 1.5.0 OTA update to allexisting Firefly owners — a free motor power boost from105kW to 120kW, no hardware changes required. The updatealso prepares Firefly vehicles for NIO's fifth-generationbattery swap stations — the infrastructure that unifiesall three NIO brands on one network for the first time.NIO operates 3,846 swap stations and has delivered over110 million swaps since 2018. William Li guides to4,500-4,600 stations by year end. Gen 5 changes theunit economics of the entire swap business.Trump and Xi Jinping agreed today that the Strait ofHormuz must remain open. That's a joint US-China position— not just American pressure on Iran. China absorbs1.5 million barrels of Iranian oil daily. When Beijingpublicly aligns with Washington on Hormuz staying open,Iran's negotiating position weakens significantly.China also ordered 200 Boeing jets. Jensen Huang metChinese Premier Li Qiang directly in Beijing.And at midnight tonight Drake drops Iceman — 928 dayssince his last solo album, first since the Kendrick Lamarbeef reshaped his public image. The streaming numbersSaturday morning are a referendum on whether hip-hopstill moves the needle commercially — and whetherDrake's cultural dominance survived the feud.NIO earnings May 21st. Xpeng May 28th.---📊 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.

Six stories today — all connected to your portfolio.The NIO ES8 topped China's large SUV retail rankingsfor the fifth consecutive month — including combustionvehicles. The most premium mainstream NIO product isthe best-selling large SUV in China. That margin mixis what William Li was signaling when he told his teamrevenue growth would outpace delivery growth in Q1.The Onvo L80 launches tomorrow. Starting at 245,800 yuanwith the battery — 17,700 yuan cheaper than Tesla'sModel Y in China. Under BaaS the entry price drops to159,800 yuan. 2,840 liters of total cargo space —largest of any five-seat SUV in China. 900-voltarchitecture. LiDAR version with NIO's Shenji chipor pure vision with Nvidia Orin X. Early order datais tracking slightly better than the L90 at the samepre-sales stage. Onvo targets 3,300 swap stationsby year end.Trump landed in Beijing today with Tim Cook, Elon Musk,and Jensen Huang — who boarded Air Force One in Alaskaat the last minute after Trump called him personally.Topics: trade, Taiwan, Iran, and Nvidia chip exportcontrols. If any movement emerges on chip exportsfrom this summit it moves the entire semiconductorsector and NIO's autonomy roadmap simultaneously.Tesla FSD just crossed 10 billion cumulative miles.Huawei Qiankun hit 10.47 billion kilometers cumulativewith 910 million kilometers in April alone. A Huaweiexecutive declared they will surpass Tesla by October.Tesla is reportedly pushing its full-strength FSD V14to employee vehicles in China for the first time.The biggest autonomous driving battle in Chinesehistory is underway.Chinese industry executives are now calling L3 amarketing grey zone — the liability problem betweenL2 and L4 creates confusion that hurts consumersand exposes manufacturers. NIO's careful marketinglanguage is a competitive advantage in this environment.Xpeng reports Q1 earnings May 28th — one week after NIO.PPI hit 6% year over year. Markets hit all time highs.Cerebras priced its AI chip IPO at $185/share.---📊 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.

Four stories today — all connected to your NIO position.NIO reports Q1 2026 earnings on May 21st before US marketsopen. Three things to watch on the call: whether revenuegrowth outpaced delivery growth as management guided,whether gross margin held above 17.5% from Q4 2025,and what William Li says about ES9 and L80 demand momentum.April delivery breakdown: the ES8 delivered 13,020 units —44% of NIO's entire monthly volume. The 5566 lineup(ET5, ET5 Touring, ES6, EC6) is under significant pressurewith meaningful year-over-year declines across every model.In Q1 the ES8 accounted for over 77% of NIO-brand deliveries.That's a company running on one engine. The ES9 and L80are engines two and three — both launching in the next 15 days.Every major automaker now wants chip independence.Volkswagen announced it's developing its own automotiveSystem-on-Chip in China for Level 3 autonomous driving.VW is already using Xpeng's Turing chip in its firstall-electric China SUV — the ID. UNYX 08 — which justentered production with deliveries starting by end of June.Reports from the Chinese internet suggest NIO is planningto sell its Shenji NX9031 chip to other manufacturersafter spinning off the chip business. The Apple siliconplaybook applied to automotive.April CPI dropped today at 3.8% year over year — thehighest since May 2023. Gasoline up 28.4% annually.Beef up 14.8%. Airline fares up 20.7%. Real wages fell.Bank of America now forecasts no Fed rate cuts untilthe second half of 2027. Traders are pricing a 30%chance of an actual rate hike by year end.The macro headwind is real. It's Iran-driven.It resolves when Hormuz resolves. Until then —watch oil, not the Dow.Also — missed yesterday. Writing a book. More soon.🔐 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.

Five stories today — NIO leads everything.ES9 test drives open May 11th — this Sunday.NIO has initiated a 10,000 kilometer (6,200 mile)shortest-time driving challenge alongside the opens.Onvo L80 launches May 15. ES9 deliveries begin May 27on the same day as the official launch — nearlyunheard of in the Chinese EV industry.A leaked image circulating on Chinese social mediasuggests NIO is developing a companion smartphonethat extends across all three of its brands — NIO,Onvo, and Firefly. A NIO phone would integratenatively with the swap network, NIO Pilot, vehiclecontrols, and the Shenji chip ecosystem. This is theecosystem thesis playing out in real time.April EV sales are in. Leapmotor hit 71,387 units —a 73.9% year-over-year increase and a new all-timemonthly record. NIO delivered 29,356 units — up22.8% year-over-year but squeezed out of the 30Kclub by Xiaomi. NIO's cumulative deliveries crossed1.11 million units. The April softness was predicted.May 15th is when the recovery starts.Leapmotor's record comes with a problem. Its newD-series flagship is priced at 250,000-300,000 yuan —moving directly into NIO's territory. The brand thatbuilt its identity on affordability is now trying tosell premium products to buyers who expect premiumbrand experience. NIO spent eleven years building that.Leapmotor is trying to do it with a product launch.Markets hit all-time highs today — S&P 500 at 7,398,Nasdaq at 26,247, six straight winning weeks. Micronsurged 13.7%, Oracle 13.56%, SanDisk 14.27% in onesession. Apple signed a chip-making deal with Intel.And Michael Burry compared the AI trade to the finalmonths of the 1999-2000 dot-com bubble.Watch the semis. Watch the AI infrastructure names.The momentum is real. So is the caution sign.---📊 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.

Three stories on the last day of April — all connectedto your portfolio.Trump started a war with Iran in February. Oil hit $104.The Strait of Hormuz closed. And Chinese EV exports hit arecord high in March — up 140% year over year according tothe China Passenger Car Association. Solar, batteries, andEVs combined rose 70% in total export value. China's batteryexports alone hit $10 billion in a single month.Diesel is up over 100% in parts of Southeast Asia. Countriesthat depended on Middle Eastern oil don't need governmentincentives to switch to EVs anymore — their fuel bill isthe incentive. Trump started a war that accidentallyaccelerated the global case for Chinese clean energy.NIO's battery asset operator Mirattery issued its secondgreen ABN of 2026 — another 1 billion yuan, bringingcumulative issuance to 4 billion yuan total. The seniortranche carries a coupon rate of just 2.00% — below China's3.00% benchmark lending rate. The issuance was oversubscribed.Rates are trending down. The swap network is now raisinginstitutional capital at premium terms. That's infrastructure,not just a product feature.Big Tech reported last night. Microsoft beat. Amazon beat.Alphabet beat and rose 10%. Meta beat and fell 5% on flatQ2 revenue guidance. Combined AI capital expenditure acrossthe four companies has hit $725 billion for 2026. The marketis no longer rewarding beats — it's demanding proof thatthe spending is generating returns right now. Alphabet showedit. Meta didn't. The scoreboard reflects that.May is NIO's biggest month in company history.ES9 official launch. Onvo L80. Beijing Auto Show public days.---📊 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.

Six stories from the biggest auto show in history —plus two US macro stories your portfolio needs today.The 2026 Beijing Auto Show opened April 24 as the largestauto show ever staged — 380,000 square meters, 1,451 vehicles,181 world premieres. The secretary-general of the PassengerCar Association called it the only booming top-level autoshow left in the world as Detroit, Frankfurt, and Tokyocontinue to shrink or cancel.Tesla skipped it. Again.NIO brought all three brands — NIO, Onvo, and Firefly —under one roof for the first time. The ES9 made its publicdebut with over 40 industry-first technologies, dual ShenjiNX9031 chips, and SkyRide full active suspension.Official launch late May. Deliveries June 1.The CEOs were the real show. Lei Jun of Xiaomi visitedNIO, Xpeng, Li Auto, and BYD's booths and gave printedT-shirts to Li Bin, Li Xiang, and He Xiaopeng — photoshit every Chinese hot search immediately. Wang Chuanfu —the richest man in China — took the subway to the venueand stood at the BYD booth for six hours straight.Huawei spread across 4,400+ square meters with five brandson one platform — and is creating a brand identity problemnobody has answered yet. Xpeng showcased Level 4 autonomousdriving with the GX model.Back in the US — Big Tech reports this week. Apple,Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon all drop earnings. The Fedmeets Tuesday with a 100% chance of no rate cut as oilstays above $100 and Goldman raised their Q4 Brentforecast to $90 per barrel.---📊 The platform I use for tracking institutional movesand NIO earnings:🔗 Moomoo: https://start.moomoo.com/0AY120This content is a paid ad from Moomoo Financial Inc. (MFI).The content creator receives no additional compensation fromthe firm and MFI makes no representation of completeness oraccuracy of any content beyond the advertisement.---🔐 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.

Five stories today — starting with the one every NIO investor needs to hear right now.A British Virgin Islands holding company called Charge Peak, which owns the patents of bankrupt Israeli startup Better Place, just sent NIO a cease-and-desist letter demanding $250 million — calculated as 2% of NIO's 2025 revenue. They're claiming NIO's battery swap network infringes three European patents.Here's why I'm not worried. This is not a lawsuit — it's a negotiating letter. Better Place went bankrupt in 2013. NIO was founded in 2014 and has been filing its own independent battery swap patents since 2017. NIO responded directly — their technology is "materially different" and developed through years of independent R&D. And the three patents cover European operations only — about 60 of NIO's 4,000 global swap stations.The timing is telling. This letter dropped the day before Beijing Auto Show with NIO stock up 95% in 12 months. That's not coincidence. That's a shakedown. Buy the dip if it comes.On the same day — NIO delivered its 100,000th third-generation ES8 in Beijing. 100,000 units above 300,000 yuan in a market where 56% of dealerships are losing money. William Li didn't pick that timing by accident.Israel and Lebanon extended their ceasefire three weeks after Trump personally joined the White House meeting. Three more weeks of breathing room for markets.Google dropped $750 million to help companies deploy AI faster — the real AI battleground is now implementation, not model building.And a startup called Noscroll launched an AI bot that does your doomscrolling for you. The irony for this channel writes itself.Beijing Auto Show media day is tomorrow. This channel covers everything.---📊 The platform I use for tracking institutional moves and NIO earnings:🔗 Moomoo: https://start.moomoo.com/0AY120This content is a paid ad from Moomoo Financial Inc. (MFI).The content creator receives no additional compensation from the firm and MFI makes no representation of completeness or accuracy of any content beyond the advertisement.---🔐 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.

Four stories that all connect to your portfolio today.Tesla reported Q1 2026 earnings — $22.38 billion in revenue and $0.41 EPS, both beats. But deliveries missed at 358,023 units and Tesla built 50,000 more cars than it sold. Capex guidance jumped $5 billion above prior guidance to $25 billion. The stock gave back its after-hours gains on that news.Meanwhile NIO delivered 83,465 vehicles in the same quarter — up 98.3% year over year. The growth gap between these two companies is the story.China's auto price war just paused heading into Beijing Auto Show. Three years of below-cost pricing, collapsing margins, and industry-wide bleeding — and it stopped this week. That pause is a structural tailwind for NIO which was designed to compete above the price war's reach.Chinese automakers held 80 car launches in March 2026. Sales dropped 15% in the same month. That's the fast consumer goods trap — brands launching constantly while buyers wait for the next cheaper model. NIO operates above 300,000 yuan where that trap doesn't apply the same way.Beijing Auto Show opens Friday. 1,451 vehicles. 181 world premieres. Tesla skipped it again. NIO is at booth E203 with all three brands. ES9 momentum, ES8 milestone, and a potential Gen 5 battery swap announcement. This channel covers it all starting Friday.🔐 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.

Four stories today — all connected to your portfolio.Trump extended the Iran ceasefire hours after saying he wouldn't, calling Iran "seriously fractured." JD Vance called off his Pakistan trip. Iran said it hadn't decided whether to show up. And then — extension, no end date. Oil moves tonight. Nothing is resolved.CATL held its Super Tech Day in Beijing. Five new battery products. The headline: a full charge from 10% to 98% in 6 minutes and 27 seconds — a new global record. The Kirin Condensed Matter Battery delivers 1,500 km of range. And Naxtra — the world's first mass-producible sodium-ion battery — goes into production by end of 2026. CATL supplies NIO. Better batteries strengthen the swap network. And NIO already owns 4,000 stations — the infrastructure CATL is now trying to build from scratch.The 2026 Onvo L90 launched today with NIO's in-house Shenji NX9031 chip for the first time. Nvidia chips out. NIO silicon in. Deliveries start May 9th. The L80 comes next.NIO stock is up 95% over the past 12 months — its best run since 2020. The fundamentals are finally matching the promise. Beijing Auto Show starts April 24th. This week is loud.Courtside Financial. Hosted by Obi.

Five stories that matter for your portfolio today.William Li held an internal NIO meeting and told his employees Q2 will be hard. Most CEOs would never say that out loud. Obi breaks down why that's actually the most bullish signal you could get — because honest CEOs outperform, and because Li already identified the solution.Q1 deliveries hit 83,465 vehicles — up 98.3% year over year. Revenue growth is expected to outpace delivery growth. ES9 early orders from non-NIO buyers are already 1.5 times the ES8 at the same pre-sales period. That's total addressable market expansion in real time.The broader Chinese auto industry is bleeding. The 200,000 yuan segment has become the kill zone. NIO operates above 300,000 yuan where margins still exist and brand matters more than spreadsheets.Sam Altman's World project is expanding to Tinder, Zoom, DocuSign, Shopify, and Okta. Iris scanning to prove you're human in an internet he helped make more confusing.A man hacked the US Supreme Court filing system, bragged about it on Instagram, and walked out with probation.And a disgruntled researcher dumped working Windows exploit code online because of a conflict with Microsoft. Criminals are actively using it. Every one of these stories is a tailwind for cybersecurity spending.Courtside Financial. Hosted by Obi.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

William Li said at the ES9 launch that people can now forget about MPVs. Buick — with 27 years of MPV history in China — responded publicly on Weibo and invited Li to sit in their new Century before making that judgment.Today Obi breaks down what's actually happening beneath the brand beef.The numbers tell the real story: 11.88 million SUVs sold in China in 2025 vs just 1.06 million MPVs — and the gap is growing. The market has already voted.The ES9 starts at 420K yuan, the Buick Century starts at 470K yuan. They're fighting for the same wallet. But the ES9 isn't just competing on product — it's competing on technology, ecosystem, and the kind of brand momentum that has people in Chinese restaurants talking about NIO stock for the first time.Buick's response is good marketing. But when a legacy brand publicly defends its category against you — that's not strength. That's confirmation you're winning the narrative.ES9 deliveries start June 1st. 46 days away.Courtside Financial. Hosted by Obi.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Six stories today that connect around a single theme — the companies that survive consolidation own the decade.Nissan's Dongfeng joint venture was caught running a coordinated troll army against Li Auto during a product launch. Leaked internal documents exposed Li Auto's models as explicit targets. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stepped in.This is happening against the backdrop of China's auto industry hitting a 4.1% profit margin — its lowest since 2015. Over half of Chinese dealerships lost money last year. The price war nearly destroyed the industry. NIO just posted their first quarterly profit in this environment. That's the story.Meta is projected to surpass Google as the world's largest digital advertising platform in 2026 at $243 billion — Zuckerberg's quiet comeback is one of the greatest in modern corporate history.Citadel's Ken Griffin publicly warned of global recession if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed. The Iran ceasefire expires next week.Over 1,000 Hollywood insiders signed an open letter opposing the Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery merger.And Hailey Bieber turned Justin's Coachella headline set into a Rhode brand product launch. That's a founder mindset.Courtside Financial. Hosted by Obi.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Five stories that paint a clear picture of where the economy is heading — and one from China that you are genuinely not ready for.The S&P 500 closed Monday at its highest level since before the Iran war — fully erasing its losses — while oil surged to $104 a barrel the same day after Hormuz peace talks collapsed. One of them has better information. Historically it's oil.LVMH missed earnings — and when wealthy people stop buying luxury goods it's a leading indicator of broader consumer anxiety.PwC's new study of 1,200+ executives found 74% of AI's economic gains are going to just 20% of companies — the ones using AI to reinvent their business models, not just cut costs.OpenAI publicly said Microsoft has "limited their ability" to reach clients while announcing a new Amazon alliance and London office. The world's most important AI partnership is breaking down publicly.Intel is up 58% in nine days. Left-for-dead stocks can come back.And Seres — the Chinese automaker that builds Huawei's Aito brand — just received a patent for a built-in vehicle toilet. China's comment sections have not recovered.Courtside Financial. Hosted by Obi.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Four stories today that all connect back to NIO and your portfolio.William Li took the stage at the China EV 100 Forum urging the entire Chinese auto industry to standardize batteries and chips — a move he says could unlock over $14 billion in industry-wide savings. NIO's own ES9 has over 4,000 chips from 1,000+ varieties. NIO is cutting internally to ~400 types.A 36Kr analysis reveals China's auto chip self-sufficiency is only 25% — 75% still imported. DRAM prices jumped 180% in 3 months as Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron redirect capacity to AI. One mid-tier smart EV's memory cost went from $100 to $290.The $29K pure EV sedan market is dominated by Tesla and Xiaomi — and 2026 may be the last window for anyone else to crack it.And Trump just announced a US Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after 21 hours of failed peace talks in Islamabad. Experts warn elevated oil prices could persist through end of 2026 — making NIO's battery swap model more valuable every single day.Courtside Financial. Hosted by Obi.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Most NIO investors are focused on delivery numbers. Not enough people are talking about the man leading the company and why he actually has something to lose.William Li founded NIO in 2014 with ~$150M of his own money.When the company was going bankrupt in 2020 he pledged his personal shares to fund $100M in emergency notes out of his own pocket. Then came the Hefei Miracle — a $1B lifeline from the Hefei government that saved the company.Today Obi breaks down that full story, explains why the 2026 $1.1B performance pay package is actually one of the most bullish signals in the NIO thesis, and covers Sam Altman getting a Molotov cocktail thrown at his house, Snap's AI glasses, StubHub's $10M FTC settlement, and YouTube raising Premium prices again.How quickly people forget. How many never knew.Courtside Financial. Hosted by Obi.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Last episode I left you with a question. Three years exceeding quota. No raise. No promotion. Do I stay or do I go?Today you get the answer.And then this series changes — because starting next episode we stop with the autobiography and start building your career.In this episode:🔹 The decision to bet on myself — and the exact mindset I used🔹 Why the best time to look for a job is while you still have one🔹 6 months of daily applications — the rejections, the ghosting, the early rounds that went nowhere🔹 The job I was basically promised — then got blocked from by a CEO I never even got to speak to🔹 How I went around the recruiter and got the truth directly🔹 Two offers landing at the same time after months of nothing🔹 Company A vs Company B — the startup vs the established player🔹 The hardest part of having two good offers nobody warns you about🔹 Why I chose stability over the swing — and why I don't regret it🔹 What comes next: the practical playbook for getting into tech salesPre-med dropout. Nigerian household. No finance degree. No engineering background. High-profile data center deals with some of the most innovative companies in the world.Where you start has nothing to do with where you finish.🔔 Subscribe — the practical stuff starts next episode.#techsales #techsalescareer #salescareer #howtogetintotechsales#CourtsideFinancial #salesjobs #SDR #accountexecutive #careeradviceNord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Friday roundup. Here's everything that mattered this week.NIO unveiled the ES9 — physically larger than a Rolls Royce Cullinan and projected to carry NIO's highest SUV gross margin. Pre-orders from outside NIO's existing community are already running 1.5x the ES8's pre-sale pace. We break down what it means for the business.ALSO THIS WEEK:— Inflation worst reading in 2 years — gas up $1+/gallon since US-Iran conflict began— 3,200 ships idle in the Strait of Hormuz— S&P 500 recovering war losses as ceasefire talks progress— Someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's house— Michael Burry posted and deleted — Palantir dropped anyway— Chinese NEV exports up 124% YoY in Q1 — Tesla China exports up 164%— Can NIO actually become the next BMW, Benz or Audi? The honest answer from the Chinese press— US crackdown on China academic collaboration — what it means for the tech warCourtside Financial. Hosted by Obi.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

NIO revealed the ES9 today in Hangzhou. Pre-sales start at 528,000 yuan — about $77,000 — with battery-as-a-service bringing the entry price down to 420,000 yuan. That's 31% lower than the ET9 sedan carrying identical technology — the same Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving chip, SkyRide active chassis, 900V architecture, and 600kW charging. Official launch late May. First deliveries June 1st. NIO Hong Kong shares hit a five month high. Obi used Nord VPN to access the Chinese internet and found Chinese automotive journalists on dealership floors, real buyers pressing their faces against showroom windows, and community members calling the ES9 a Range Rover killer at half the price. Full breakdown of the confirmed specs — 5,365mm length bigger than a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, 520kW dual motor, 620km range, 47 speakers, zero gravity second row seats, electrochromic windows, wire-controlled steering, 5.4 meter turning radius — plus the investment thesis for what the June 1st delivery date means for NIO's trajectory through the rest of 2026.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

GoPro cut 23% of their workforce this morning. Over 1,600 companies have announced layoffs since January 1st as AI eliminates jobs faster than any recovery can replace them. Apple former insiders confirmed this week that Apple had a 5-year head start on AI and wasted it — Siri still trailing ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude in 2026. And NIO confirmed today their in-house Shenji chip is going into the Onvo L90 launching April 21st — meaning NIO's own semiconductor technology now runs across Firefly, Onvo, and the NIO main brand. Shenji chips are already being pitched to Leapmotor and Geely as a third party supply business. NIO is not just a car company. They're building an AI chip ecosystem inside a car company. Obi breaks down what the AI layoff wave means for everyday Americans, why Apple's failure is the most important business lesson of 2026, and why the Shenji chip story is the most underappreciated investment thesis in the EV space right now. ES9 reveals tomorrow.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

J.P. Morgan put a $145 price target on Tesla today — a 60% drop from current levels. Meanwhile NIO upgraded the Firefly with more power, more features, and same price — giving existing owners the motor upgrade for free over the air. Volkswagen launched a new EV in China built using Xpeng's technology — the 89-year-old German automaker needed Chinese help to compete. BYD's Denza starts pre-sales for a luxury SUV that charges in 9 minutes. And tomorrow NIO reveals the ES9. Full breakdown of everything happening in the Chinese EV space 24 hours before NIO's biggest product reveal.Nord Security Products:*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=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Three stories dropped today that most people aren't connecting. OpenAI is burning $85 billion in a single year. Pakistan is mediating an Iran truce that could drop gas prices this week. And tomorrow NIO reveals the ES9 — their largest SUV ever at 5,365mm long, bigger than a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, with 697 horsepower, 620km CLTC range, 900V charging adding 155 miles in five minutes, dual Shenji NX 9031 autonomous driving chips built in-house, and the SkyRide active chassis system from the ET9. Obi breaks down everything we know going into tomorrow's tech reveal event, why the battery swap model makes NIO owners immune to oil price swings regardless of what Pakistan negotiates, and why the ES9 is not just a car story — it's a civilization story about where automotive technology is actually being built.Nord Security Products:* 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=9356⁠Lessie AI (Courtside Financial Link) :https://bit.ly/4dmJk27Lessie AI Discount code: CF50Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

On April 1st at the New York International Auto Show NIO's Firefly won the 2026 World Urban Car of the Year — judged by 98 automotive journalists from 33 countries with votes tabulated by KPMG. For the first time in 21 years every single World Car Award trophy went to a battery electric vehicle. Full breakdown of what happened in New York, what the Firefly actually is, NIO's three brand strategy, the investment case including EPS projections, NIO Power subscription revenue, semiconductor licensing, and margin expansion from scale. Plus the Firefly upgrade Tuesday April 7th and the ES9 reveal Wednesday April 9th. This video was inspired by community member  @dannialronen2577  Lessie AI (Courtside Financial Link) :https://bit.ly/4dmJk27Discount code: CF50Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Gas hit $4.06 per gallon nationally this week — up over a dollar from one month ago. WTI crude hit $112 a barrel with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed by Iran, causing what the IEA called the worst energy crisis in history. Analysts warn $150 oil and $5 gas are possible within weeks. Meanwhile America has a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs — the most affordable and technologically advanced vehicles that would save everyday Americans the most money at the pump. Obi breaks down the oil crisis, the tariff wall, the American EV affordability problem, and why NIO's battery swap model makes their owners completely immune to Middle Eastern geopolitics regardless of what oil does.Lessie AI (Courtside Financial Link) :https://bit.ly/4dmJk27Discount code: CF50Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

I turned my Texas house into a rental property and moved to Scottsdale Arizona to cover Arizona in field sales. Four to six months later they reassigned my territory to New Mexico — a state I could have covered from Texas where I already was. This episode covers the real lessons of field sales, why body language and in-person presence change everything, how showing up consistently in New Mexico led a customer to buy over a million dollars of gear, and why I'm genuinely grateful for everything Arizona gave me beyond the job. Plus the three year epiphany that made me question everything. Do I stay or do I go? Next episode we find out.Lessie AI (Courtside Financial Link) :https://bit.ly/4dmJk27Discount code: CF50Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Tesla just confirmed the end of the Model S and Model X — the premium vehicles that built the company's reputation — to bet everything on the CyberCab robotaxi which has no steering wheel, no pedals, and no regulatory approval to operate on public roads. Chinese owners who paid 64,000 yuan for FSD watched hackers unlock it with a $35 Raspberry Pi before Tesla patched it in 48 hours. Robotaxis stopped in traffic in both San Francisco and Wuhan in the same week and both events were safety systems working correctly — not failures — though the media reported them as breakdowns. And the three companies that manufactured NIO, Xpeng, and Li Auto's first vehicles are now bankrupt, pivoting to AI, or betting survival on hydrogen. Obi connects every story to NIO's positioning — Tesla vacating the premium personal EV segment is the exact space NIO has been building in for eleven years. ES9 reveal in 6 days.Lessie AI (Courtside Financial Link) :https://bit.ly/4dmJk27Discount code: CF50Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Tesla delivered 358,023 vehicles in Q1 2026 — missing analyst expectations of 372,000 for the second consecutive quarter while producing 50,000 more vehicles than it sold. The Iran war is disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil toward $100 a barrel and prompting Amazon to charge sellers a 3.5% fuel surcharge effective April 17th. OpenAI acquired TBPN — the buzzy founder-led tech talk show — making the AI giant's first media acquisition and concentrating both AI infrastructure and narrative infrastructure under one roof. And China's auto industry just published a deep analysis of Toyota's 70-year global journey asking whether Chinese brands can avoid Japan's mistakes on the path to global dominance. Obi connects every story back to NIO's positioning — why oil spikes make battery swap more valuable, why Tesla's stagnant product pipeline creates an opening for Chinese premium EVs, why NIO started premium when Japan took 70 years to get there, and why the ES9 reveal in 7 days is the most important product event in NIO's history.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

NIO just dropped March delivery numbers and beat their own Q1 guidance. 35,486 total deliveries in March — 136% year over year. Q1 total of 83,465 topped the upper end of guidance at 80,000 to 83,000. The ES8 delivered 16,255 units in March alone — best-selling large SUV and best-selling vehicle above 400,000 yuan in China for three consecutive months. NIO stock jumped 2.82% to $6.20 with Hong Kong shares surging 10%. Obi breaks down every number — NIO main brand, Onvo's recovery, Firefly's build — then puts it in full competitive context. BYD posted its seventh consecutive month of year over year sales declines. Xpeng fell 17% year over year for the third straight month. Li Auto barely profitable in Q4. And Xiaomi just hired Tesla's former China GM to fix a retail and sales conversion problem they've been quietly hiding — a move that accidentally proves why NIO's eleven-year investment in community and direct retail experience cannot be replicated with a single personnel decision. ES9 reveal in 8 days. Beijing Auto Show in 23 days.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

The Chinese EV price war is over. The infrastructure war has begun. BYD is building 20,000 flash charging stations by end of 2026 using a light-asset partner model that scales fast. NIO has 3,737 swap stations already running and is using battery subscription cash flows to issue bonds in China's interbank market — operating the swap network as a financial platform not just energy infrastructure. Obi breaks down the fundamental difference between a node business and a platform business, why flash charging creates linear value while battery swap creates exponential network effects, why CATL's universal swap standard could transform NIO's network from a brand-specific asset into public energy infrastructure, and why the swap network's battery lifecycle monetization — from automotive use through second-life grid storage — makes it the most undervalued asset in the Chinese EV space. ES9 reveal in 8 days. Beijing Auto Show in 24 days.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

For 25 years Japan dominated global auto sales. In 2025 Chinese brands sold nearly 2.7 billion vehicles — surpassing Japan for the first time since 2000. BYD ranked sixth globally, Geely eighth, both surpassing Honda and Nissan. But Obi gives the honest picture — Toyota still earns more profit per vehicle than every Chinese brand, North America remains almost entirely closed, and sales volume is not the same as business quality. He breaks down Q1 showroom data from ten Chinese EV brand stores visited without appointments — NIO owners bringing friends in to buy, Li Auto customers walking past the i6 electric to ask about range extended, Xiaomi's heat arriving and vanishing within a week. Leapmotor launches a 300,000 yuan flagship on April 16th targeting NIO's price segment — and faces the classic upmarket brand trap. And Waymo's permit battle in New York City against taxi unions proves exactly why William Li said no to robotaxi in 2024. ES9 reveal in 9 days.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Someone found a practically new Chinese EV for less than half its original price. The brand that made it went bankrupt. Should they buy it? Obi says no — and the reason reveals one of the most important and underreported stories in the Chinese EV market right now. Over 6 million Chinese consumers are currently driving orphaned vehicles from brands that no longer exist. No commercial insurance. No parts. Software permanently frozen. Battery systems encrypted with no authorized repair path. In a market where 400+ EV startups have collapsed and industry leaders from Huawei and Xpeng both say fewer than 8 brands will ultimately survive out of the current 77 — the question every Chinese car buyer is now asking is whether the company they're buying from will still exist for the entire lifespan of the vehicle. Obi breaks down why NIO's first quarterly profit is not just a financial milestone for investors — it's a consumer confidence signal that fundamentally changes the purchase calculus for anyone spending 300,000 yuan on a vehicle and needing to know the company will honor the warranty, maintain the servers, keep the swap stations running, and deliver OTA updates for the next decade.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

There is a price point in the Chinese EV market that is genuinely dangerous to operate in right now — 200,000 yuan, roughly $29,000. Brands pushing up from below with better technology and lower prices. Premium brands pushing down from above with larger vehicles and aggressive discounts. The companies caught in the middle without precise positioning are being eliminated. Obi breaks down why precision is the only survival strategy in this segment, which brands are winning and why, and why NIO made the deliberate decision years ago to build their brand above 300,000 yuan — away from this battlefield entirely. He also gets honest about the challenge Onvo faces as it enters exactly this price band with the L60, the upcoming L80, and two new models in development. The swap network may be Onvo's one irreplaceable differentiator — but execution needs to be precise. ES9 reveal in 12 days. Beijing Auto Show in 27 days.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Three months after buying his first house in Texas, Obi received a promotion to move to Scottsdale Arizona as a field account executive making six figures. Instead of letting the house hold him in place he cold called a property manager, turned it into a rental, and moved to a city where he knew nobody for the third time in three years. In this episode he breaks down what he learned about enterprise sales — why nobody spends millions based on a cold call, the discovery-to-proposal framework that drove his results, the personal SLA he created as his professional brand, and how he completed an eight-quarter inside AE program in four quarters. The lesson that runs through all of it — possessions should never hold your career hostage. Episode 6 of the full tech sales origin story on Courtside Financial.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

BYD just reported a 19% profit decline despite selling 4.6 million vehicles. The price war they started is now eating their own margins. Volkswagen paid Xpeng billions to license their technology — then used that technology to build a car cheaper than Xpeng's own vehicle. Xpeng dropped Motors from their name entirely and rebranded as a physical AI company. Honda is writing off 2.5 trillion yen and keeping their CEO. Toyota recalled 560,000 vehicles in China. NIO's Onvo restarted two new models. And Chinese cars now hold 14% of South Africa's market and nearly 40% of Egypt's.The price war phase of the Chinese EV industry is ending. The technology war is beginning. Full Friday breakdown.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

A Chinese consumer just spent $29,000 on a pure electric vehicle to save $15 a month on gas. That sounds irrational — but it reveals something deeply important about the psychology driving the next phase of Chinese EV adoption. Oil is back at nine yuan per liter. EV search traffic is surging globally. But EV prices are rising too — lithium up 130%, memory chips up 300%, aluminum at four-year highs. The era of endlessly falling EV prices may be over. And in this environment NIO's premium positioning becomes stronger not weaker. Full breakdown today.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Someone just spotted NIO's ES9 on the street, generating significant "nio news" just before its official debut. This sighting comes as discussions around "nio stock" and its market performance continue to be a hot topic in the "stock market". Even figures like "kramer" have weighed in on NIO's trajectory, making this a relevant update for those following "finance stock" movements.Join the Free CourtSide financial Discord to be part of the conversation before it hits YouTube! This video covers the exciting street sighting of NIO's ES9, just 15 days before its official reveal, sparking significant nio news. We also touch upon Jim Kramer's historical stance on nio stock and how the electric vehicle market continues to evolve. Stay informed on the latest finance news and stock market moves.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

Xiaomi's EV division just posted its first annual profit — revenue up 224%, gross margin at 24.3%, 550,000 vehicle target for 2026. Li Auto just launched its first ever share buyback — stock down 35%, deliveries declining 19%, multiple executives departed. Same industry, same quarter, completely different stories. Huawei launched 10 vehicles in a single event with their most advanced lidar standard across every price point. And Li Auto's identity crisis reveals exactly why NIO's decade-long commitment to pure electric and premium positioning was always the right call.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR

China's recent emergency oil price control, the first since 2013, highlights surging gas prices and a broader oil crisis. This move, capping oil prices due to rapid increases, is a significant development for the nation's economy. This action is viewed as a highly positive macroeconomic factor for the Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) industry, indicating a pivotal shift towards sustainable energy solutions. NIO Mirratery raising capital from BOND INVESTORS. Xiaomis NEW SU7 isn't selling as fast as the OLD one!China has implemented its first emergency oil price control since 2013, a significant move to manage rising gasoline prices. This macro development is a highly bullish indicator for the Chinese electric vehicles industry, signaling a shift in the energy landscape. The government's intervention in oil prices highlights the growing energy crisis and its potential to accelerate the adoption of EVs in the china ev market.Nord Security Products: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

People are saying NIO's Shenji chip beats Nvidia by multiples. I just spent four days at Nvidia GTC watching Jensen Huang lay out the future of autonomous driving — and I need to set the record straight.The comparison being made is against Orin X. Nvidia's Orin X is two generations old. The honest comparison is Shenji against DRIVE Thor — Nvidia's current generation chip. And on raw compute, Thor wins.But here's the thing. The real Shenji story doesn't need to beat Nvidia to be one of the most compelling technology plays in the Chinese EV space right now. I'm going to show you exactly why.I'm a NIO bull. You know that. But credibility means being honest when the narrative needs a correction. Full breakdown today.Nord Security Products: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

Weeks ago on Courtside Financial, Obi pointed to the CYVN Holdings — now L'imad — connection between NIO and McLaren and said the architecture for a technology partnership already existed. Today William Li confirmed it at a user event in Wuhan: NIO is actively supplying battery packs to McLaren. Obi gives an honest assessment — 10 kilowatt hour packs for a hybrid McLaren won't move the revenue needle today, but the deeper technology relationship between two companies sharing the same Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth investor is a story that's just beginning. Also covered: the driver's car vs autonomous driving debate sweeping the Chinese auto industry, why good driving dynamics and good smart driving aren't competing priorities, and Xpeng entering Mexico in four days fresh off their first ever quarterly profit. Recorded on Obi's birthday — still grinding.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠

Eight months into his full time career Obi had a six figure offer on the table. He turned it down, took a pay cut, and moved from Michigan to Austin Texas alone for the first time in his life. In this episode he breaks down the decision process, the manager conversation that made the offer appear in the first place, why he said no to $100K anyway, and one of the most important career lessons he's learned — your hometown might not have the opportunity you need early on, and waiting for it to come to you is a mistake. He also covers how he completed a rotational sales program in one quarter that was designed to take four, and what it was like to cover New York as an inside account executive living in Austin. Episode 5 of the full tech sales origin story.

I just walked through my front door after five days in San Jose for Nvidia GTC. On the way out I drove past NIO's North American headquarters — saw the EP9, saw the team working inside.I came home to one of the most significant weeks in Chinese EV history.NIO posted its first ever quarterly profit. Today Xpeng posted its first ever net profit — 380 million yuan, gross margin at 21.3%, up nearly 7 percentage points year over year. Two Chinese EV startups hitting profitability in the same month for the first time ever.Meanwhile China's March EV sales are rebounding to an estimated 900,000 units — nearly double February's numbers. The demand was always there.And there's a fascinating picks and shovels story developing in the battery industry that actually makes the bull case for NIO stronger than most people realize.Full breakdown today — fresh off the plane.Nord Security Products:* 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

I just spent four days at Nvidia GTC in San Jose. Jensen Huang stood on stage and declared that the ChatGPT moment of self-driving cars has arrived. BYD and Geely are now building Level 4 autonomous driving programs on Nvidia silicon. Uber is deploying driverless vehicles in 28 cities across four continents by 2028.Meanwhile in China the range extended vs pure electric debate is reaching a boiling point — every major automaker is rushing into range extended territory while Li Auto's business model is quietly cracking. Tesla's FSD V14.3 is about to drop but faces a year or more delay before it reaches China.I was in the room this week. Here's my full breakdown of what it all means for NIO and the Chinese EV space.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902NordPass: https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356

NIO's stock jumped 15% after earnings. Revenue up 76%. Gross profit up 163%. First ever quarterly net profit in eleven years. Q1 guidance calling for over 100% revenue growth year over year.So why does NIO still trade at a discount to its peers?Today I answer that question using Leapmotor as the contrast — a company that just delivered 600,000 vehicles, turned profitable for the first time, and grew 103% in a single year. By every traditional metric that's an incredible result. And yet the market barely moved their stock.The difference between how the market values NIO and Leapmotor tells you everything about where premium EV brands are headed — and why the eleven year bet is finally paying off.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠

BMW, Mercedes, and Audi simultaneously replaced their China leadership — executives with 12 year tenures all shown the door within weeks of each other. Mercedes dealers openly revolted. Audi dealerships are losing money on every car they sell. Meanwhile NIO just hit 80,000 deliveries on the ES8 and signed a major ecosystem partnership with Tuhu, China's largest auto service platform covering 150 million users. Obi breaks down what the German leadership purge actually signals, why oil approaching $100 a barrel is a tailwind for Chinese EVs specifically, and what a new solid state battery announcement capable of 1,200 kilometers on a single charge means for the race ahead. Recorded live from San Jose during Nvidia GTC week.Nord Security Products: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

Obi moves to Ann Arbor for a Fortune 500 cold calling internship and gets cussed out on his very first call. His manager tells him something the next morning that he's carried throughout his entire career. He comes back, makes 150 to 200 calls a day, eats lunch at his desk, battles a fellow intern in a Goku vs Vegeta competition that pushes them both to new levels — and leads the entire group in dials, leads, and revenue by summer's end. He walks out with a full-time account executive offer before he's even graduated. Then the pandemic hits. His start date gets pushed back. And when the call finally comes — the offer has changed. This is the moment that forced one of the biggest decisions of his career. Cliff hanger ending. Next episode drops soon.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902NordPass: https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356

Obi is reporting from San Jose the night before Nvidia GTC and breaking down one of the most important — and underreported — stories in the Chinese EV market right now. Some manufacturers are using OTA software updates to quietly limit battery capacity and motor power on vehicles that have hardware defects, avoiding expensive physical recalls by pushing silent software patches instead. Other manufacturers are abandoning older owners entirely, refusing to push updates to cars that are fully capable of receiving them. Obi breaks down what's happening, what the Chinese government is doing about it, and why NIO's approach to its owner community and technology stack is a genuine competitive advantage in this environment. Recorded from San Jose the night before Jensen Huang takes the stage at Nvidia GTC 2026.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902NordPass: https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356

After slamming the anatomy book shut and telling his mom he was switching majors, Obi spent the summer working two jobs simultaneously — Enterprise Rent-A-Car by day, Cole Haan retail by night. Standing in that mall watching the clock, he knew he was paying his dues. His target: get into one of the top university sales programs in the country. One problem — the application window was already closed. This episode covers the phone call that taught him his first real sales lesson without him even realizing it, how he learned to get past a gatekeeper before he knew what a gatekeeper was, and how he earned his spot in a program with a 70-80% placement rate into top sales organizations. The internship story — and the first cold call — comes next.

Obi is driving to San Jose for Nvidia GTC — the world's biggest AI conference — and breaking down exactly why what gets announced there this week matters more for NIO's long term story than anything the stock did this month. Jensen Huang takes the stage Monday with next generation chip architecture and new automotive compute platforms that will set the pace for every smart driving system being built in China right now. Obi also breaks down why the Chinese EV price war is losing steam, why the brands growing right now are the premium ones not the cheap ones, and exactly where NIO stands as smart driving becomes the new price of admission in the world's largest auto market.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: ⁠https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902⁠NordPass: ⁠https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356⁠

I graduated high school smart but completely directionless. Ended up at community college on a pre-med track I never chose — because at 18, sitting in a registration office with my mom, I didn't have the courage to say no.I transferred to a university three hours from home, didn't know a single person, got so low I started seeing the school therapist. And one night cramming for an anatomy exam — something snapped.I slammed the book shut. Dropped my classes the next morning. Switched my major. And did all of it without telling my mom or my stepdad.This is Episode 2 of my full tech sales origin story. Episode 3 drops soon — the conversation with my parents. Subscribe so you don't miss it.Nord Security Products:* 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

Honda just reported its first annual loss since listing in 1957 — nearly $15.7 billion written off on a failed EV strategy. Combined with write-downs from Ford, GM, and Stellantis, the Western auto industry has now lost over $67 billion trying to catch up on EVs. Obi breaks down what went wrong for Honda, what it signals for the broader global auto industry, and why the contrast with the Chinese EV sector couldn't be sharper. Also covered: NIO's Onvo brand adding LiDAR to the L60 in a quiet but important product move, and Xpeng's flying car division closing in on $1 billion in total funding with mass production launching this year.Nord Security Products:NordVPN: https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=143053&url_id=902NordPass: https://go.nordpass.io/aff_c?offer_id=488&aff_id=143053&url_id=9356