Elon Musk in China: Tesla CEO met some of China’s most important people. What did it yield?

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, concluded his three-day visit to China and departed from Shanghai to Texas on Thursday. Despite speculations about Tesla’s expansion plans for its Shanghai Gigafactory, no definitive deals or agreements were signed during this trip. Musk met with Chen Jining, the Communist Party boss of Shanghai, before leaving for Texas via his private jet from Hongqiao International Airport. Chen assured Musk that Shanghai is committed to attracting top businesses and promised to accommodate their needs during the construction and operation of their plants. Musk’s bid to expand Tesla Shanghai factory, but to no avail The Shanghai government expressed their support for Tesla’s capacity expansion. Musk’s visit to China included meetings with high-ranking officials in Beijing, such as the Foreign Minister, Commerce Minister, and Industry and Information Technology Minister. During his visit, Musk also toured the Gigafactory 3 plant in the Lingang free-trade zone and commended the employees for their impressive work. The Gigafactory 3, Tesla’s first factory outside the US, delivered approximately 440,000 vehicles to Chinese customers in 2022. With exports included, the factory produced around 710,000 vehicles last year, accounting for over half of Tesla’s total output. Plans for expanding the Shanghai facility were put on hold after failing to receive approval from authorities for a second assembly line. However, Tesla announced in April its intention to build a new battery factory in Shanghai for manufacturing Megapack energy-storage units, which are designed to stabilize energy grids. Musk’s visit to China has made the US government uneasy Elon Musk’s arrival in Beijing has been met with a warm reception from the Chinese public, who have hailed him as a “global idol” and likened him to renowned Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma. **Also read: Elon Musk In China: Tesla CEO meets Chinese Foreign Minister and Commerce Minister** During his visit, Musk engaged in various meetings with high-ranking government officials, including a banquet with Zeng Yuqun, the executive in charge of CATL, a prominent Chinese battery company. China has become an increasingly significant component of Tesla’s plans, with the Shanghai Gigafactory contributing to about half of the company’s electric vehicle production since 2021. **Also read: Elon Musk in China to meet govt. officials, causes major headache for Biden’s White House** Despite his popularity, Musk has faced criticism for his growing ties with China, particularly considering the country’s restrictive stance on freedom of speech. This criticism stems from Musk’s self-proclaimed status as a “free-speech absolutist” while being associated with China, where his own platform, Twitter, is banned. The situation has raised concerns among some observers regarding the potential conflict between Musk’s principles and China’s policies. Will Twitter be unblocked in China? Bloomberg reported that billionaire Elon Musk concluded his first trip to China in three years with a visit to his electric vehicle factory in Shanghai. During his time at the factory, Musk purchased fast food for approximately 100 workers as a gesture of appreciation. **Also read: Is Elon Musk going to compromise Twitter for his business prospects in China?** A video released by Tesla’s China team captured Musk delivering a speech to the workers, expressing his admiration for their exceptional work and thanking them for their dedication, even late at night. The video was also shared on Twitter by Global Times, a subsidiary of The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. It’s worth noting that Twitter had previously identified the Global Times account as affiliated with Chinese state media but removed the label in April. This has led to some analysts speculate, that the CCP may have been requested to unblock Twitter in China. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.