Elon Musk greeted with flattery and feasts during China trip
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[May 31, 2023] By
Martin Quin Pollard
BEIJING (Reuters) -He's "a pioneer", "Brother Ma" and some want him to
be U.S. president. Billionaire Elon Musk has been showered with praise
by the Chinese public during his trip to China and while also securing
audiences with three government ministers.
Since landing in Beijing on Tuesday, the Tesla Inc chief executive has
met with China's foreign, commerce and industry ministers and has dined
with Zeng Yuqun, chairman of top battery supplier CATL.
While little is known of those discussions - the industry ministry has
only said Musk and its head Jin Zhuanglong exchanged views about the
development of electric vehicles and connected cars - that hasn't
stopped an outpouring of enthusiasm for Musk on Chinese social media.
"He's a global idol," commented one user. "Elon Musk is just great, if
only China could have someone like Elon Musk," said another.
Musk's unannounced trip is the latest by a major U.S. CEO to China since
the country reversed its zero-COVID policy and reopened its borders.
Apple's Tim Cook visited in March, while JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon and
Starbucks' Laxman Narasimhan are also in China this week.
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But compared to lower-key welcomes for his counterparts, Musk's visit is
a hot trending topic and his popularity comes despite rising U.S.-China
tensions, with keen interest shown in his comments on artificial
intelligence and electric vehicles.
Even the menu for the 16-course meal at the upmarket Man Fu Yan
restaurant he shared with CATL's Zeng on Tuesday evening was effusive,
photos posted on social media showed.
Illustrated with two rearing horses - a play on the character for horse
used in Musk's Chinese name - the menu described Tesla as a dark horse
"standing out from traditional automotive companies".
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![](../images/053123PIX/busine95.jpg)
Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk
leaves a hotel in Beijing, China May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
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In contrast to the social media storm in China and his propensity at
home to make waves on Twitter (which he now owns), Musk has yet to
make any public statements during his trip. Twitter is blocked in
China.
Tesla and CATL did not respond to requests for comment. The commerce
ministry also did not respond to a request for comment. The foreign
ministry quoted the billionaire as describing the U.S. and China
economies as "conjoined twins" and saying that he was opposed to
their decoupling.
Musk's first visit to China in three years comes as Tesla faces
intensifying competition from Chinese-made electric vehicles and
some uncertainty about expansion plans for the Shanghai plant.
The factory produced over 700,000 Model Y and Model 3 vehicles last
year, more than half of the company's global output.
It was not clear if Tesla is facing any regulatory hurdles to
expanding the plant.
Investors are also keen to know whether China regulators will clear
the release of Tesla's advanced driver assistance features. The
features are available in the United States as part of the "Full
Self Driving" software it sells for $15,000 per vehicle.
Musk is expected to meet other senior Chinese officials and visit
the Shanghai plant later in the week, sources have said, though it
was not clear who exactly he would meet or what issues they would
discuss.
(Reporting by Martin Pollard; Additional reporting by Josh Arslan,
Wang Tingshu and Joe Cash in Beijing and Zhang Yan in Shanghai and
Shanghai Newsroom; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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