[bright tone]
- Hey, do you have a sec? - Mm-hmm.
Uh, so we were talking about something
in my management class last night.
Did you guys know we're behind
most of the other auto companies in green tech?
We got a slow start on EVs, thanks to a previous CEO.
Yeah, my grandfather always said,
"Electric cars are for European sissies."
And I know that sounds bad,
but he didn't mean people from Europe.
He meant effeminate men.
I'm pretty sure that's worse.
Well, this analyst was talking to our class about it,
and she says that every time a auto company announces
a green initiative, the stock price shoots up.
- Well... - Yeah.
We do need to boost our stock price.
Have I told you about the sacrifice that I made
- to save your jobs? - You did.
Oh, no, I just didn't know if you were there
- when I told everyone, so-- - We were all there.
It was pretty selfless, so okay.
Well, yeah. Let's announce it.
What exactly am I announcing?
Say we're investing 2 billion into EV
with plans to go completely green by,
I don't know, 2040?
And are we actually going green
or just announcing it?
Um, both. We'll put the press release out
now for the stock bump, and you take all the time
that you need designing your solar wheels
or an engine that runs on hot-dog water
or whatever gets you hard.
- Everyone's happy. - Does $2 billion--
does that sound a little fake, though,
like Dr. Evil or something?
- Do not. - Well, you could say
like $1.7 billion.
Oh, yeah. No, that's good.
It'll look like we tried to reach 2 billion
- but couldn't. - [sighs]
Oh, my God, fine. Do it.
[as Dr. Evil] $2 million.
- Billion. - $2 billion.
Zip it.
* Bom bom bom-bom-bom-bom-bom ♪
♪ Buh buh bom-bom-bom buh bom-bom-bom-bom ♪
[chorus vocalizing]
Did you see this?
Our stock's already up four points.
- It totally worked. - I saw.
We should do a second announcement
and see if the price goes up even more.
I'm not sure that's a good idea.
The stock price is up four points.
- I saw. - Let's do a second
announcement. It'll boost the price
- even more. - I said the same thing.
How do we justify a second press release
on the same day about the same thing?
Uh, it's green stuff so, uh, climate change?
Oh, yeah. That's perfect.
- Hmm. - "As the situation
"with climate change evolves,
so must our plans," et cetera.
Uh, make sure that you use the word "unprecedented."
- Ooh, that's nice. - Sure.
And say we're investing 3.27 billion.
- Oh. - And we'll be green
- by the year-- - Uh, 2030.
- Love it. - Okay, anything earlier
than 2035 is gonna sound crazy.
Can we at least say 2034?
- Okay, 2034. - 2033?
Fine, 2034.
Sounds like you're learning a lot in that program.
You know, I was never into academics as a kid,
but this stuff is-- is actually really interesting.
Well, I'm very happy for you.
Like in my last class, there was an example of a company,
- Merlin Enterprises. - Uh-huh.
And Merlin makes widgets.
But one day they decided
that they also wanna make scrunchems, right?
Right, yeah. Well, I gotta go--
It's all made-up.
There is no Merlin Enterprises.
But for the sake of the example, I--
John! [exhales]
[softly] Sorry, I gotta go deal with this.
[laughs] John!
We gotta go over some stuff.
He really wanted to get away from you.
Thank you, Dale.
You click Refresh. You've got the magic touch.
Okay.
- Oh! Up six cents. - Whoa, hey, hey! Yes.
We're up another point and a half.
Hey, we gotta do a third announcement.
We have to. The stock market is obsessed
with us right now, like so horny.
Right, um, I just got a call
from "The Wall Street Journal."
Good news is, they think
that everything we're saying is super exciting.
Uh, no doy, "Wall Street Journal."
I was just about to say that. I was just about to say
- "No doy." - But they're also curious
to know specifically what we're doing in terms of,
- you know, going green. - Already?
We just announced this thing.
Well, if we don't give them any specifics,
it'll seem like we're all talk,
and our stock price'll go back down to where it was,
probably lower, actually.
Cyrus! Get in here!
You know, they wouldn't be doing this if I was a man.
- Holding you accountable? - Mm-hmm.
You know my office has a phone, right?
We need to give "The Wall Street Journal"
some specifics on the new green initiative.
- What do you got so far? - The initiative you asked me
to start thinking about roughly three hours ago?
- Not a whole lot. - What have you been doing
- this whole time? - Sorry.
It might take me a whole week
to solve the global energy crisis.
What if we invest in some green tech,
like the other companies we're developing?
Yeah, that'd show "Wall Street"
that we're serious at least.
We have an untapped acquisition fund.
- Mm. - And I know about some
promising start-ups in Silicon Valley.
- Great. Make us a list. - Okay.
Looks like we're going shopping!
Cha-ching, a little retail therapy.
[laughs] Mama likes to swipe that plastic.
- Mm. - Just give Mama the cash
and Mama will spend it.
[as a baby] Mama buy something for baby?
Toy for baby?
Um, let's maybe all just sit quietly in our offices
for the rest of the day.
This feels good, guys. We're literally on our way
to help save the planet.
He said while flying on a private plane,
drinking from single-use plastic.
So we have meetings set up with nine start-ups
that are all working on EV-related technology.
First there's Loband--
I don't need all the details.
This is lottery ticket investing.
You buy ten. You hope you get a winner.
Perfect. Great business model.
We should meet with my buddy Chase.
He's a huge tech guy.
Oh, I--I doubt we'll have time.
No, seriously. He's a disruptor.
Like imagine a version of me, but in Silicon Valley.
Hmm.
Um, I should probably get into these.
Everyone, please be seated for landing.
Well, I hope you all brought your umbrellas,
'cause we're about to make it rain on some nerds.
* It's coming up, it's coming up ♪
♪ It's dare, uh ♪
We anticipate that our solar cells
will be able to charge up to 200% faster
than conventional solar arrays.
So-lar, so good. [laughs] It's exciting.
How 'bout, uh, 5 million for 5%?
I know what you're thinking: this looks like
an ordinary electrical resolver.
This one is coil-free.
[gasps]
Just kidding, I have no idea what any of this means.
I want you to forget everything you know
about water and glycol-based cooling.
- Done. - I'm ready to make an offer.
I haven't started the pitch yet.
Don't sell past the "yes."
The typical design consists of primary
and secondary coil windings, but the operative word--
- Design. - Coil.
With silicon anodes, we see higher lithium absorption,
as silicon can bind four lithium ions
- per silicon atom. - This is game-changing.
- It's a game changer. - The game has changed.
This'll change the game.
[sighs] I cannot take much more of this.
So many different types of nerd,
each with their own distinct odor.
Well, our next meeting cancelled.
The company dissolved and laid off its entire workforce.
- Oh, thank God. - Oh, that's perfect.
We can meet Chase. His company is right around
- here. - Or we could go to
that boba shop that we passed on the way here.
Oh, I vote for that.
I love me some boba.
- It's so good. - It's nice to chew a drink.
Guys, come on. We're meeting with every
company Cyrus wanted to.
- I'm just asking for one. - Oh, baby brother is jealous.
[whiny] Does baby need a toy?
- [cooing] - Fine! Forget it.
Uh, message received, okay?
I'm dumb, and everything I say is stupid.
- Mm-hmm. - [sighs]
Okay, Wesley, we'll meet your friend.
- Seriously? - Yeah.
Yes! You will not regret this.
I personally vouch for this guy.
Mm.
[light music]
Wesley Payne in the house!
- Oh, there he is. - Sarah, pump up the AC
because this guy comes in hot.
Uh. [both laugh]
- My man. - Yeah.
What in white-boy hell is this?
Uh, Chase Brody, this is Katherine Hastings--
Katherine the Great, I call her.
That's Sexy Sadie, Jack the Knife,
and Cyrus, um, uh, the Glasses Guy.
Well, thanks for comin' out here, fam.
Yeah, well, our last pitch cancelled,
so we have a very short window
for a quick, quick meet and greet.
- Mm-hmm. - So how do you two
- know each other? [laughs] - Wesley and I go way back.
I used to cheat off him in college.
[laughs] Right.
[inhales deeply]
Oh, you're serious.
Yeah, no. He's got some strengths.
All right, well, if you guys wanna follow me,
- I can give you the grand tour. - Oh, great.
We'd love a real quick, short tour.
Mm, so he's less intelligent than Wesley.
- God help us. - Yeah.
Take a seat. Make yourselves comfortable.
This is our chief "sand-gineer,"
Dustin Kregg. He's like the Woz
to my Jobs. He does the science.
I do the vision.
Hi...
I, uh, like your tie.
I like yours too.
[soft reflective music]
♪ ♪
What is sand?
Tiny rocks?
That stuff we play in at the beach?
Well, what if the actual particles
that we drive by when we drive by the beach
could actually be powering what we drive
when we drive by the beach?
- What is he talking about? - I didn't get any of that.
We've learned how to harness the power of the sun,
the wind, and water.
Why not the power of sand?
Wait, he's not actually pitching a battery made
- of sand, right? - I give you...
- No, he can't be. - The world's first
sand-based battery, the sandtery.
- Oh, my God. I think he is. - For generations--
- Should we leave? - Are you kidding?
I don't wanna miss a second of this.
- Guys, shh! - Isn't it time
we built on something new?
Oh, please say "built on sand."
Oh, God, that would make me so happy.
Isn't it time
we built... on sand?
- [both laugh] - Revolutionizing the world--
Shh. You're being rude.
- Everything okay? - Oh, oh, yeah.
Everything is more than okay, yeah.
No, this is fantastic. Please keep going.
[upbeat music]
So here in our lab, our scientists work
to manipulate the chemistry of sand
to hold and transfer electricity
using the principles of physics.
Wow, that sounds very sciencey.
Yes, I think that physics is actually the most sciencey
of all the sciences. [laughs]
You guys are being so annoying right now.
And so over here is sort of the sand area.
There's thousands of different types of sand.
It can be finicky.
I was trying to ask about their financials.
I'm not totally clear on their business model.
Oh, it's--it's really simple.
We give them money.
They put it in a Cayman Island bank account.
- We never hear from them again. - [laughs]
Yeah, they didn't teach us that one in class yet.
- Mm. - [laughs]
Hey, will you stick close by?
That creepy guy keeps on staring at me.
Which creepy guy?
Uh, Jack,
the one with the notebook.
He weirds me out. [laughs]
Don't worry.
I won't let him near you.
- Thanks. - All right, everybody.
I'd like to introduce to you the future of energy,
the sandtery.
[clicks]
- Oh. - Oh, wow.
- Wow, it works. - [laughs]
I told you guys he was a genius.
You never believe me.
I honestly thought this was like
a Theranos-type situation. [both laugh]
I didn't think it was possible.
How did--how many amp hours do you get from this much sand?
Hard to say. This is more of a conceptual
prototype than an actual working model.
So...
- Yeah. - Okay, uh, Chase.
This may sound like a stupid question, I mean...
- No such thing. - Just so I understand...
Sure.
Is this lamp powered by this sand?
This particular lamp is powered by AA batteries,
but this is exactly
how an operational sandtery will look.
- Mm. - Mm-hmm.
Anyway, let's jump back into our civvies
and chat details.
All right?
Well, that was really something.
Really didn't need to go to a lab for that.
What was the point of these suits?
I guess they didn't want us to contaminate
their nice IKEA lamp.
At least when people sell you magic beans,
they don't tell you they haven't cracked
- the bean technology yet. - [fake laughs]
So they haven't figured out every detail.
- Oh, my God! - Jesus, Jesus!
Wesley, why are you naked under that?
I thought we all were.
Hey, guys. Take a seat.
So now you have seen the Sandbox revolution.
We here at Sandbox believe that we can no longer afford
to keep our heads in the sand.
Chase, I don't need the whole pitch.
Truth is, I think your technology is a little,
um, hmm--what is the word that I am looking for?
- Bogus? - What's a nicer way
- of saying that? - Hmm. Uh, spurious?
Spurious. Great, spurious.
The tech is spurious, but you and Wesley are old friends,
so how 'bout we throw you 50 grand for, I don't know,
20%, a million percent?
We're all havin' fun here. [light laughter]
- $50,000? - Uh-huh.
Well, um,
thank you for the offer, uh, but we believe our valuation
to be at 5 billion.
I'm sorry.
I might've gotten sand in my ears.
Did you say "billion" with a B?
We believe that with our tech,
we should be able to garner a significant share--
What tech? You have no tech.
You have the idea of batteries made out of sand,
which is really just a couple letters away
from batteries made out of farts.
Well...
thank you for your interest.
Well, thank you so much for showing us around.
This has been hilarious,
and I wish you the best of luck in prison.
So embarrass me in front of my friend--
was that always your plan or...
Of course not, Wesley.
At least not initially.
Hey, um, can I have your email?
Oh, I would, but I don't have email.
[laughs]
Oh, I just--this is just-- I check the weather on this.
- That's just for my weather. - Oh, okay.
Well, I'm sorry it didn't work out.
I felt a real connection with you,
way more than with the Tesla people.
With the Tes--Tesla.
Huh.
Bet you would've invested if Cyrus had asked you to.
- Cyrus knows things. - It's true. I do.
And this place is super sketchy.
Yeah, I can't believe Tesla's looking at them.
How do you know Tesla's looking at them?
The creepy engineer told me.
Weird, Tesla usually has pretty good instincts
about this stuff.
Tesla?
Hmm.
And that's--that-- that's interesting.
Why would Tesla be interested in them?
Even if they checked them out,
that doesn't mean they thought it was worth anything.
Can you find out what the deal is?
You think Chase is gonna tell me anything
after the way you insulted him?
Well, if Tesla's looking at them,
maybe other companies are too?
[gasps] I used to date a guy at GM.
I could do some fishing.
Okay, great. Call him.
Does anyone know someone at Ford?
I actually had an on-again, off-again thing
- with a guy there. - Oh. Call them too.
Um, anyone know anyone at Chrysler?
Throuple that went south.
- Ooh, I'll try him. - How 'bout Volvo?
Not into Swedes, got it.
I know a VC guy I could check with.
He usually knows if something has buzz.
I can call my hedge-fund friend.
We met in business school, not a throuple.
- No need to slut-shame. - I can see if the analyst
who spoke to my class has heard of 'em.
I could reach out to the "Journal" reporter.
I'll call them. I need you to see what else
you can squeeze out of that engineer.
- He's into you, right? - You want me
to whore myself out to the weirdo?
Flirt with him. I'm not saying you should
[bleep] him. I mean, unless there was
- a connection and you're into-- - Ew.
Jeff Bezos used to look like a dork,
and now he's a billionaire with a Jason Statham vibe.
Okay? You could do way worse.
[upbeat music]
David, how are you?
Why are you calling, Cyrus?
I've just missed you.
I was thinking about that week we spent at the beach.
Oh, speaking of beaches,
has GM been talking to a company called--
Sandbox? No, that doesn't ring a bell.
It's probably nothing. I'm just doing
- my due diligence. - Well, I could ask around
- and call you back. - Great, thanks.
I'm 99% sure that they're scam artists, so--
They're gonna be huge. They got this game-changing
technology, but I need to know if there's competition.
All right, thanks for the tip.
No, no. I'm not giving you a tip.
Hey, Dustin. [laughs]
Dusty Dustin.
[laughs] No, that's not--
What are you doin' here?
I just felt like I wanted to see you again,
Big D.
No, it's been way too long since we talked.
That's what happens when you ghost someone.
I didn't ghost. I told you I didn't love you
and then ended contact.
When you spoke to our class, you said
we can call you with questions?
Can I ask you about one company?
Sandbox? Is anyone at the "Journal"
- writing about them? - Why?
Are you guys making a play?
I'm asking you the questions.
You know that's not how newspapers work, right?
It was kind of hot before when you were talking to me
about Tesla.
What else do you know about them?
They're an automotive and energy company
founded in July 2003 in San Carlos, California,
- but currently headquartered-- - Oh, my God, stop.
Stop it. You're so funny, Dustin.
[laughs]
- He called you too? - Yup.
What is going on with him?
And then he was asking me about some battery company.
Me too. Sandbox.
What's that about?
- Well, I should go. - Yeah, okay. Bye.
♪ ♪
- Hi, I need you to look into... - Hey, have you heard
- of Sandbox? - Called Sandbox.
Wesley, Monica Chess from the "Journal."
I'm hearing rumors about an auto company
acquiring Sandbox.
- Care to comment? - You mean Tesla?
Tesla? That's interesting.
When you say "there's a buzz," how much buzz?
Well, I'm hearing a lot of-- oh, hold on.
- Hello? - Chucky-Cheese,
checking your temperature on Sandbox.
Jesus, they're about to explode.
Tesla and Payne are both interested?
Those are just the ones that I know of.
- Lemme guess, Sandbox? - Hold on.
Hey, Monica, I don't think anyone's talking
about anything but them.
Look, the company everyone is talking about right now,
Sandbox! Buy, buy, buy!
This thing is on fire, people.
It is red-hot! [buzzing]
Apparently they're the next Google,
Alphabet, Facebook, Meta.
I know some of those are the same companies,
but the point is, they could've been the answer
to all of our problems and we missed it.
- Uh, you missed it. - Is it possible
that we're just buyin' into the hype?
I mean, you were the one that said they were trying
- to sell us magic beans. - Yeah.
And if I remember that story correctly,
they really were magic beans.
[bleep], we misread that situation completely.
You misread the situation.
Okay, Wesley, you were right.
Happy? You were right. I was wrong.
You were wrong. Oh, I heard it.
- [cell phone buzzes] - Oh, it's Javier from Nissan.
Everybody's thirsty for Cyrus today.
Hola, Javi.
Chase, I'd like to apologize for my lack of tact earlier.
Oh, do you now?
Your vision may have been too bold
for me to recognize right away.
So how 'bout 200 million for a 5% stake in Sandbox?
200, that's--that's a lot of money for, uh--
what did you call us, a bag of farts?
I think it was actually a battery made of farts.
Once you get to know her, that's not even
all that insulting. That's like a four out of ten.
Well, an hour ago, I would've jumped at that offer,
but since then, we have had a flood...
[chuckles] Of interest.
Hedge funds, VCs.
Anyway, thanks for comin' back.
It's been...
hilarious.
[sighs]
If you ever hurt her, I will kick your ass.
[light percussive music]
While the focus has been on optimization, the issue is,
in fact, uh, sustainability.
I told you Chase was legit. You should've listened to me.
And I already agreed with you.
Do you realize the healthy boundaries
I let crumble all for nothing?
Dustin held his wrist by my face
for an entire TED Talk, and it smelled.
- It was a smelly wrist. - Are we sure
this isn't a scam? If--
in my class, we were reading about irrational exuberance.
[sighs] It's not a textbook, Jack.
- It says the basic-- - We're buds and all--
we're buds and all, but you're seriously embarrassing yourself
- right now. - Machine learning can--
Guys, this is amazing, everything you're doing
- with sensors. - Uh, you mean AI?
Yeah, whatever. AI.
We're gonna need to discuss this for a minute.
Sure. Mm-hmm.
We need the room.
Oh! Okay.
Yeah, so we're gonna have to...
[shooing]
[door slams] Wesley, get Chase on the phone.
- Now? - Uh, yeah.
I am not gonna lose Sandbox,
and I cannot sit through another minute
of these nerds and their stupid, boring pitch.
Sensors this, sensors that.
[bleep] get laid.
[line trilling]
- You got Chase. - Uh, hey, Chase. It's Wesley.
Look, uh, so Katherine wanted to make one last try.
Uh, God. What is it with that bitch?
Hey, Chase. Kat Hastings here.
Uh, look, we're upping our offer.
5%, $300 million.
And if you want, we'll throw in that cute little blonde
that your engineer likes so much.
[laughs]
Also, I screwed up.
Just assumed you were full of crap,
and I should've trusted you, so I'm sorry.
But we wanna be in business with you,
so if you give us a chance, we would really--
Still a pass, Kat. Thanks anyway.
[people talking indistinctly]
Uh, hold on. Hold on.
Uh, Chase, look, man.
We're tired.
We just spent a long day listenin'
to a bunch of dumb, smelly virgins
talking about sensors nonstop.
It's AI.
And yeah, maybe Katherine came off as kind of a bitch,
- but... - [clears throat]
If you get to know her,
you'll realize that A, she's also low-key kind of hot,
and B, she's the bitch you want on your side
because she sticks by you.
No, it's true, Chase. I don't know if you know this,
but a couple of months ago,
the board tried to fire this whole group--
M-m-m-my point is, don't go with us
just because of the money.
Go with us because when the going gets rough,
we're the ones you want next to you in that sandbox.
- [all cheering] - Yeah, to Sandbox
- and to Wesley... - Oh.
For making it all happen.
In the future, I am gonna listen to you more,
- or, you know, at least try to. - Danke.
Oh, looks like the news leaked.
Our share price is already shooting up pre-market.
- Whoo! - Yes!
- [laughs] Suck it, board. - [laughs]
I'm sendin' our stock through the stratosphere.
[laughter]
You--you know the board would like that, right?
- [laughing] Well, yeah. - Hey, guys.
I'm sorry about being such a downer about everything.
Don't worry about it, Jack.
You know, people make mistakes. You'll learn.
Yeah. It just seemed so crazy to me
that we were gonna give $300 million
to some guys who said they can make a battery out of sand.
[laughter]
- [inhales dramatically] Wow. - Mm-hmm.
[clears throat]
[plane humming]
Hey, guys.
What did we just buy?
[bleep].
[bright tone]