Category: Elon Musk

Musk met with China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology and Minister of Commerce today. He met with China's foreign minister after arriving in Beijing yesterday and was seen meeting with CATL's chairman.

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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk began the second day of his visit to China today, meeting with more local officials.

On May 31, Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Minister Jin Zhuanglong met with Musk in Beijing, where they exchanged views on topics including the development of new energy vehicles (NEVs) and smart connected vehicles, according to an announcement from the MIIT.

The MIIT is China's industrial regulator, overseeing areas including the automotive industry.

Earlier today, Reuters reported that Musk visited China's Ministry of Commerce and met with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.

Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on its private jet, and was later met by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

Tesla opposes decoupling as well as supply chain disconnection and is willing to continue to expand its business in China and share in China's development opportunities, Musk said, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry yesterday.

In addition to the meeting with Chinese officials, Musk was seen yesterday meeting with Robin Zeng, chairman of CATL, the world's largest power battery maker.

A picture circulating on Chinese social networks showed Musk and Zeng together in the lobby of a hotel.

Neither Tesla nor CATL made an announcement about the meeting. Local media outlet The Paper cited industry sources as saying the talks could include cell supply for Tesla's Megafactory in Shanghai, future cooperation on a battery plant in North America and power cell supply.

Tesla signed a contract with Shanghai's Lingang authorities on April 9 to build a new Megafactory in the area, which will be dedicated to the production of Tesla's energy storage product Megapack.

The Megafactory will be Tesla's first energy storage system factory outside of the US home market, with an initial planned annual production capacity of up to 10,000 commercial energy storage batteries and an energy storage scale of nearly 40 GWh, with products to be supplied to the global market.

The plant is scheduled to start construction in the third quarter of this year and go into operation in the second quarter of 2024, according to an announcement by the Lingang special area administration.

Tesla's vehicle assembly plant in Shanghai is located in the Lingang area, which began operations in late 2019 and has now become Tesla's largest EV production site in the world.

Tesla sold 75,842 China-made vehicles in April, including 39,956 delivered in China and 35,886 exported, according to data released earlier in the month by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang meets with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Beijing

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Tesla opposes decoupling and is willing to continue to expand its business in China and share in China's development opportunities, Musk said.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk began his meetings with Chinese officials upon his arrival in Beijing.

On May 30, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Musk in Beijing, according to a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.

Chinese-style modernization will create unprecedented growth potential and market demand, and China's new energy vehicle (NEV) industry has a promising future, Qin said.

China will continue to unswervingly promote a high level of opening up to the outside world and is committed to creating a better market-oriented, rule-of-law and international business environment for enterprises from all countries, including Tesla, he said.

China's development is an opportunity for the world, and a healthy, stable and constructive US-China relationship will benefit both China and the United States, as well as the world, Qin said.

To develop Sino-US relations well, it is necessary to hold the steering wheel and move forward in the right direction of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as proposed by President Xi Jinping, he said, using the analogy of Tesla's car.

The United States and China need to "apply the brakes" in time to avoid "dangerous driving"; good at "stepping on the accelerator pedal" to promote mutually beneficial cooperation, Qin said.

The Chinese people are hardworking and wise, and China's development achievements are well deserved, Musk said, according to the statement.

The interests of the United States and China are intertwined, like Siamese twins inseparable from each other, Musk said.

Tesla is opposed to decoupling and the disconnection of the supply chain and is willing to continue to expand its business in China and share the opportunities of China's development, Musk said.

The statement provided no further content. Qin previously knew Musk when he was China's ambassador to the United States.

On March 4, 2022, Qin tweeted that he had an inspiring conversation with Musk about cars on the road, stars in the sky, research on the human brain, the meaning of life on Earth and our future into space.

Last August, Qin congratulated Tesla's Shanghai plant for seeing its one millionth production vehicle roll off the line, citing it as a model for US-China cooperation.

"In less than 3 years, from 0 to 1,000,000. This is a marvelous achievement," Qin said in a retweet of Musk's tweet on August 16, 2022.

China's foreign ministry says welcome as Musk arrives in Beijing

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China has always been welcoming visits by business people from various countries, including Mr. Musk, to better understand China and promote mutually beneficial cooperation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

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The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed its welcome as Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has just arrived in China.

China has always been welcoming visits by business people from various countries, including Mr. Musk, to better understand China and promote mutually beneficial cooperation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing held today.

China is firmly pushing forward a high level of opening up to the outside world and is committed to creating a market-oriented, rule of law and international business environment, Mao said.

China is happy to see foreign companies invest and set up businesses in China, deepen their involvement in the Chinese market and share development opportunities, she said.

Earlier today, a Reuters witness said a private jet used by Musk had arrived in Beijing.

Musk's private jet, a 2015 Gulfstream G650ER, was shown leaving Alaska on Tuesday morning Asian time and then crossing over Japan and South Korea, the report noted.

The witnesses for Reuters said the plane with its identifying tail number could be seen at Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday.

Musk is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials and tour Tesla's Shanghai factory in what is his first trip to China in three years.

The Tesla CEO last visited China in January 2020, when he showed off a dance during the delivery of Tesla's first China-made Model 3 vehicles.

China is Tesla's second-largest market after the United States, and its Shanghai plant is the electric vehicle maker's largest production center, producing the Model 3 sedan as well as the Model Y crossover.

For all of 2022, the Chinese market contributed $18.1 billion in revenue to Tesla, or 22 percent of its $81.5 billion in total revenue, according to its 10-K filing with the SEC on January 31.

The US market contributed $40.6 billion, or 49.8 percent, of Tesla's revenue in 2022.

Musk once laughed at BYD, but now thinks 'their cars are highly competitive'

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Musk is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials and tour Tesla's Shanghai factory, according to Reuters.

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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is expected to visit China this week, Reuters said in a report today, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Musk is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials and tour Tesla's Shanghai factory, two of the sources said, according to the report.

It's unclear who Musk will meet with and what they will discuss, the report noted.

A Reuters report on March 31 said Musk planned to visit China as early as April and seek a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

The Tesla CEO last visited China in January 2020, when he showed off a dance during the delivery of Tesla's first China-made Model 3 electric vehicles (EVs).

China is Tesla's second-largest market after the United States, and its Shanghai plant is the EV maker's largest production center, producing the Model 3 sedan as well as the Model Y crossover.

For all of 2022, the Chinese market contributed $18.1 billion in revenue to Tesla, or 22 percent of its $81.5 billion in total revenue, according to its 10-K filing with the SEC on January 31.

The US market contributed $40.6 billion in revenue, or 49.8 percent, to Tesla in 2022.

For the full year 2022, Tesla delivered 1,313,851 vehicles worldwide, up 40.38 percent from 935,950 in 2021.

The EV maker delivered 439,770 vehicles in China in 2022, contributing 33 percent of the year's deliveries, data monitored by CnEVPost show.

Tesla's Shanghai plant produced 727,000 units in 2022, up 49.7 percent from a year earlier, Chen Kele, deputy director of intelligent manufacturing promotion division at Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, said earlier this month.

Tesla's Shanghai plant had an industrial output of 183.9 billion yuan ($26 billion) in 2022, which accounts for 23 percent of Shanghai's auto manufacturing output, driving 1.3 percentage points of local industrial output growth, Chen said.

Shanghai will further deepen cooperation with Tesla to promote the EV maker's businesses including self-driving, and robotics in Shanghai, he said at the time.

From January to April, Tesla delivered 177,385 vehicles in China, up 61.54 percent year-on-year, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Tesla's Shanghai plant exported 127,779 vehicles in January-April, up 72.97 percent year-on-year.

In addition to its EV business, Tesla is bringing its other major business -- energy storage -- to China.

Tesla signed a deal with Shanghai's Lingang authorities on the afternoon of April 9 to build a new Megafactory in the area, which will be dedicated to producing Tesla's energy storage product Megapack, according to a previous announcement from Lingang's special area administration.

The Megafactory will be Tesla's first energy storage system factory outside its US home market, with an initial planned annual production of up to 10,000 units of commercial energy storage batteries and an energy storage scale of nearly 40 GWh, with products to be supplied to the global market.

The factory is scheduled to start construction in the third quarter of this year and put into operation in the second quarter of 2024.

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Musk once laughed at BYD, but now thinks 'their cars are highly competitive'

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