Musk in China after deferring India visit

On a surprise visit to Beijing amid speculation that he may unveil Tesla’s autonomous driving technology in the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) market in China, billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and discussed future expansion plans for his automobile. Premier Li met with Musk, CEO of the US electric carmaker Tesla, in Beijing on Sunday, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The SpaceX and Tesla chief travelled to China at the invitation of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, meeting with CCPIT president Ren Hongbin to discuss further cooperation with the country, official broadcaster CTGN reported. Musk is expected to meet senior Chinese officials at the State Council and “old friends” in Beijing, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. His Tesla has become a popular EV in China after he set up a $7 billion factory in Shanghai, which went into production in 2020.

Musk, who recently skipped a scheduled visit to India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to firm up plans to open a Tesla factory in the country, is visiting Beijing when his Tesla market in China is threatened by the local EVs increasing sales. The Austin-based (Texas) Tesla has faced fierce competition from Chinese EV makers in the past few years. It has cut the prices of its Shanghai-made vehicles by up to six per cent to maintain its leading position in China’s premium EV segment.

Grace Tao, Tesla’s vice-president of external relations in China, wrote a commentary piece in China’s official newspaper People’s Daily on Friday, saying autonomous driving is a key growth driver for the country’s new energy vehicle sector, arguing that the technology will hatch new business models such as robotaxis, a vision that Musk has embraced, the Post reported. Musk’s latest visit to China coincides with the 2024 Beijing Auto Show, which kicked off on Thursday. As a strong backer of Beijing in the US despite concerns over China’s rise across the political divide in Washington, Musk enjoys red-carpet treatment in China.

In 2019, Tesla was allowed to drive cars into the Zhongnanhai compound, the living and working area of Chinese leaders, when former Premier Li Keqiang hosted the CEO.