Tesla CEO Elon Musk made an unannounced visit to China on Sunday and met with Premier Li Qiang, a week after postponing a visit to India to address the automaker’s pressing issues.
China’s No. 2 official met with Musk in Beijing just hours after he arrived there. According to China Central Television, Li added that China has always been open to foreign companies and that Tesla is a successful example of Sino-US trade cooperation.
Musk’s visit to China comes at a volatile time for Tesla, as sluggish EV sales prompt a cost-cutting drive and more than 10% reduction in global workforce. He was scheduled to make a much-anticipated visit to India on April 21 and 22, which included talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but “has been canceled for the following reasons.”very heavy It’s Tesla’s obligation. ”
According to CCTV, Mr. Musk told Mr. Li that Tesla intends to deepen cooperation with China. According to CCTV, the CEO earlier met with Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. He plans to meet with officials to discuss the rollout of Tesla’s driver-assistance systems, according to people familiar with the matter.
The SpaceX-registered Gulfstream landed in Beijing around 2pm local time. Reuters earlier reported that Musk was expected to discuss Tesla’s software during his visit.
Tesla is working to get a system it calls fully self-driving (FSD) approved in new markets. The company’s vehicles have been banned from China’s military installations and several other government institutions in the past because of the cameras used in non-self-driving driver assistance systems.
“Once we receive regulatory approval, we plan to release it as a supervised autonomous driving system in every market where we can get regulatory approval, which is likely to include China,” Musk said during Tesla’s April 23 earnings call. ” Musk said about FSD at Tesla’s April 23rd earnings conference. .
Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are becoming increasingly common in China’s EV market, where Tesla is losing market share. Many local companies, including Xpeng Inc., Xiaomi Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co., use sophisticated technology as a selling point for their cars, but industry-wide price cuts by competitors have pushed U.S. companies to Similar pressure is being applied to
According to Chinese state radio, Li visited the Beijing Auto Show on Sunday and said that China occupies a leading position in the new energy vehicle industry. He urged industry players to maintain competitive advantages and vowed to ensure a level playing field for foreign companies in the market.
Tesla, the world’s largest seller of all-electric vehicles, has repeatedly cut prices in major markets including the United States and China. Investors overlooked last week’s dismal results because the company had promised to launch a low-cost EV as early as later this year.
Tesla’s Shanghai factory, established in 2019, is Tesla’s most productive factory in the world, a point Musk made to Li on Sunday, praising “the diligence and wisdom of the Chinese team.” CCTV reported.
Chinese media reported that Tesla has canceled all offers to Chinese university graduates in its latest round of job cuts.
