Musk visited China today (28th) and arrived in Beijing in the afternoon.
Musk arrived in Beijing on the afternoon of the 28th. Picture from @玉元Tantian
Musk arrived in Beijing on the afternoon of the 28th. The picture comes from CCTV News
The US media called it an "unexpected trip" that had not been exposed before.
It is unclear what the detailed itinerary of Musk's visit to China will be.
According to CCTV news, Ren Hongbin, president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, will meet with Musk today to exchange views on topics such as the next step of cooperation.
Musk's visit to China coincides with the Beijing Auto Show (April 18 to May 4).
Although Tesla did not participate in the exhibition this time,
But tomorrow Musk is expected to appear at the Beijing Auto Show.
US press: "A surprising visit"
On April 28, local time, Reuters quoted two people familiar with the matter as an exclusive report that Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a flight to Beijing on the 28th. The report described it as "a surprise visit" to China.
Musk is seeking to meet with Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss the rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in China and seek approval, one of the people said.
Screenshot of the Reuters report
According to the report, Musk's trip to China has not been made public. Musk's trip coincided with the Beijing Auto Show, which opened on the 18th and will end on May 4. Tesla does not have a booth at this auto show, and the last time it exhibited was in 2021.
According to information from a business airline, Musk took a private jet Gulfstream G550 today and arrived at Beijing Capital Airport at about 2 pm on the 28th.
At the same time, it is reported that there will be a major event at the Beijing Auto Show Pavilion tomorrow morning (29th), and the possibility of Musk visiting the Beijing Auto Show in person is not ruled out.
Some netizens have speculated that Musk's trip is to promote the implementation of FSD's fully autonomous driving in China.
Seeking to roll out FSD in China
Since 2021, Tesla has stored all data collected in China in Shanghai and has not transferred any data to the United States, as required by Chinese regulators.
Tesla has sold more than 1.7 million vehicles in China since it entered the Chinese market a decade ago, and its factory in Shanghai is the largest in the world.
Tesla introduced FSD four years ago, an evolution of its intelligent driver assistance system, but it has not yet been launched in China.
Musk said on the social media platform X this month that Tesla could soon make the FSD system available to users in China.
Musk's visit to China was not publicly announced, and it is reported that just over a week ago, Musk canceled a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to "Tesla's heavy business".
Layoffs + price cuts in response to increased competition
Last week, Tesla reported its first quarterly revenue decline since the pandemic-induced slowdown in production and deliveries in 2020.
Tesla's share price has fallen by nearly a third since the start of the year as investors worry about Tesla's growth prospects.
In the face of declining global sales and intensifying competition, Musk, who claims to "hate" layoffs, also reluctantly cuts his love and will lay off more than 10% of his employees worldwide.
Some Tesla China employees revealed to the media that Tesla China's sales, delivery, after-sales and other positions are the hardest hit areas of the layoffs, and some departments have laid off as much as 40% of their employees, and the above positions claim that they are no longer recruiting.
According to the news, Tesla (Shanghai) withdrew the offers of all fresh graduates in the mainland and gave them a month's salary compensation.
Recently, Tesla slashed prices in several major markets around the world, including China, Germany and the United States, and began offering a one-month free trial of the technology to U.S. drivers with FSD-enabled vehicles.
In addition, Musk announced last week that Tesla will launch new and more affordable models based on existing electric vehicle platforms and production lines, and will also launch Robotaxi with self-driving technology.
Musk posted on the social media platform X this month that he will officially release the Robotaxi on August 8.
Will Musk be in the same frame with Lei Jun again?
It is worth noting that Musk's visit to China coincided with the Beijing Auto Show, and the last time Tesla participated in the exhibition was in 2021.
At this Beijing Auto Show, the "big guys" of car companies gathered, and Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Technology, frequently made golden sentences at the Beijing Auto Show, becoming the traffic responsibility of the scene.
Web pictures
In 2014, Lei Jun went to the United States twice and made a special trip to "learn from his idol" Musk. After returning home, he sighed: "What Elon Musk did, we can only follow." ”
Ten years ago, Lei Jun visited Tesla and took a photo with Musk. Web pictures
Lei Jun asked Musk at the time: "When you decided to do Tesla ten years ago, electric cars were not so popular, how did you see this opportunity?"
Musk's answer made Lei Jun unforgettable for life, he said: "I never felt that this was a good opportunity, it has a much greater failure rate than a success rate, I just feel that this is something that should be done." ”
Lei Jun said in a recent live broadcast, "I visited Tesla in Silicon Valley more than ten years ago, and I was also the first owner of Tesla. Musk is a great entrepreneur. Don't compare me to Musk, we do things differently, but we both promote the progress of technology. ”
If Musk appears at the Beijing Auto Show this time, will he be in the same frame with Lei Jun again?
Source: Hong Kong Commercial Daily, Global Network, IT House, 21st Century Business Herald
Editor: Saichi
Cover: Zong Tsai
Proofreading: Jin Xia
审核：Oriole
Executive Producer: Yushan