A few days ago, it was reported that China's most direct threat to Tesla, Nio, was on the verge of financial collapse. Even prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the electric vehicle automaker behind the ES8 SUV and EP9 supercar had financial difficulties. A very troublesome Q4 of 2019 only made matter worse. One report claimed Nio's cash balance was no longer sufficient to guarantee liquidity for the next year. So, is Nio truly on the verge of shutting its doors for good?

Not so fast, say spokeswoman JoAnn Yamani. Nio reached out to CarBuzz to confirm some good news.

"Nio has secured $435 million in the form of short term convertible notes, which positions us to continue our operations." This funding should secure continued operations for 2020. In addition, Nio reiterates its "US R&D operations will remain in Silicon Valley, California and our design operations will remain in Munich, Germany."

Nio's corporate offices will remain in Shanghai, China. Looking further ahead, Nio will still have to make sure it sells enough vehicles to keep the lights on. Fortunately, its founder, Chairman, and CEO, William Bin Li, previously confirmed Nio has sold a total of 34,218 vehicles in 296 cities in China as of the end of February this year. "We are well prepared to withstand the headwind and to become stronger in 2020," he said. In 2019, Nio delivered a grand total of 20,565 vehicles, a nice improvement over 2018's total of 11,348 units.

However, Tesla is currently churning out up to potentially 3,000 vehicles a week at its new Shanghai, China factory. The Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y are quickly becoming common sites in China. But Nio isn't going down without a fight, even with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of its advanced technologies, including Level 2 autonomous driving technology equal to Tesla's and one of just three automakers capable of firmware over-the-air-updates, and other factors, it has secured the necessary funding to stay alive.