Some of the richest people in China poured billions of dollars into electric car companies to fuel the dreams of a country becoming a global leader in the field.
Now, a reckoning may be in the offing as a result of slow car sales and the government cutting back on subsidies for the emerging industry.
This leaves Jack Ma, Pony Ma, and Hui Ka Yan's flagship businesses facing an extremely steep road to profitability on their bets these electric vehicles can be mobile phones-on-wheels that link passengers to other firms.
Together with hundreds of entrepreneurs raising $18 billion, their money helped inflate an electronic bubble that now seems to be in danger of bursting.
China's vehicle industry is suffering a prolonged slump in revenue, causing EV producers to cut forecasts on profits. According to Rachel Miu, an analyst with DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong, China is proposing more reductions in product buying incentives in order to force manufacturers to operate on their own.
Here's how much Chinese tycoons have so far thrown into the electric vehicle business:
Alibaba's Jack Ma
Jack Ma stepped down in September as chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. after raising a fortune of $40 billion, but the richest man in China retains his board seat- and clout - at the e-commerce emporium he created.
Alibaba invested in several funding rounds for Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology Co. or Xpeng Motors, including one in 2018 that contributed 2.2 billion yuan ($313 million) to the carmaker co-founded by former Alibaba executive, He Xiaopeng.
Last year, Xpeng introduced its first car, the five-seater G3 SUV, and this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, has delivered 11,941 cars.
Founded in 2014, the firm is also collaborating with more developed car manufacturers. A Haima Automobile Co. factory can produce 150,000 electric cars per year.
Tencent's Pony Ma
Pony Ma's Tencent Holdings Ltd., whose WeChat messaging app helped make him the second-wealthiest person in China, guided NIO Inc. to a $1 billion funding round in 2017.
NIO is one of the few Chinese companies making multiple prototypes with more than 26,000 vehicles sold, and it defeated competitors with an initial public offering last year in New York.
But losses piled up with the overall sales slump, as "China's Tesla" started pouring money into marketing and real estate. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the company had opened 19 NIO Houses over 22 months by August and combined rental expenses were equivalent to 6.4 percent of revenue over the 12 months ended March.
China Evergrande's Hui Ka Yan
One of the most surprising pioneers in the EV market is the property developer China Evergrande Group, who said it aimed to be the biggest electric car manufacturer in the world in three to five years.
This means going past Tesla top honcho Elon Musk, who just launched a plant in Shanghai. Between September 2018 and June 2019, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, Evergrande has invested more than $3.8 billion in EV-related companies and will start producing next year's Hengchi brand.
Chairman and founder, billionaire Hui Ka Yan, who diversifies into companies such as soccer and health care admitted that there is little the overlap between Evergrande's real-estate business and its EV ambitions.
