On May 30, a Chinese EV insider 常岩 reported that plane N628TS landed at Beijing Capital International Airport with Elon Musk aboard. Reuters previously reported that Musk will visit China this week.
It is Musk’s first visit to China in three years since the famous dance during the Model Y launch ceremony in Shanghai in 2020.
Musk will visit the Tesla factory – Giga Shanghai – and potentially meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Giga Shanghai is Tesla’s largest production facility and was responsible for about half of the company’s global sales in 2022.
The arrival in Beijing instead of Shanghai, where Tesla’s production hub is, indicates Elon will meet with high-level government officials. It was previously reported that Tesla would like to enable FSD in China (yes, it’s not there yet), and backing from the government is a must when launching self-driving software.
In April, Tesla exported nearly half of its China-made vehicles. 39,956 EVs from the Shanghai factory were sold in China, while 35,886 were shipped overseas.
From January to April, Tesla sold 305,164 China-made cars. 127,779 were exported, which is about 42%, while 177,385 were sold domestically. Tesla manufactures only two models in China – the Model Y SUV and the Model 3 sedan.
During the unrelated press conference, Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was asked by a reporter about Musk’s China visit. Ning said that China always welcomes business people from various countries, including Mr. Musk, to visit China to understand China better and promote mutually beneficial cooperation.
Meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs
The first meeting Musk held in Beijing was with Qin Gang, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs. Qin and Musk have known each other since Qing Gang was a Chinese Ambassador in Washington.
Musk stated that Tesla is against decoupling and is committed to further expanding its business in China while embracing the country’s development opportunities.
Musk also remarked that the Chinese people are industrious and intelligent, and China’s accomplishments in development are genuinely earned.
“The interests of the US and China are aligned and are inseparable like Siamese twins,” Musk concludes.
Meeting with CATL founder
After meeting Qin Gang, photos of Musk with Robin Zeng, CATL’s CEO, appeared on Weibo. The two visionaries walk through the hotel lobby, and according to CarNewsChina information, the picture was taken at Ritz-Carlton, Financial Street in Beijing.
Tesla previously reported intent to build a battery factory in the US in partnership with CATL, and Ford announced something similar with their 3.5 USD billion battery factory with CATL inside.
Tesla already uses CATL’s LFP batteries in some China-made and US-made RWD models. That disqualifies the vehicles from obtaining a 7,500 USD tax credit, and the Tesla-CATL US battery might change that.
Last week, Robin Zeng also met with ex-Volkwagen Group CEO Herbert Diess in Ningde.
Editor’s comment
As usual in China, Mao Ning’s words are carefully chosen, not directly welcoming Musk but pointing out that China welcomes every business person interested in beneficial cooperation. If Musk is one of them, then he is welcomed.
I expect that Musk wants to accomplish three main goals in China: push for FSD approval, Giga Shanghai expansion plans, and meeting with Premier Li Qiang. We will keep an eye on that.
Who do you think will Musk visit first in Beijing? And will he see the BYD plant later? Let us know in the comments!
