Musk's visit to China was a much-needed win for both sides — and a snub to India

Elon Musk visiting China in 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song

• Elon Musk just made a quick trip to China, where he met with senior officials and struck a deal.
• Trade tensions between China and the US have ratcheted up in the past year, including over EVs.
• Musk notably skipped a recent visit to India, underscoring how important China is for Tesla.

Elon Musk’s two-day trip to Beijing looks like a mutually beneficial win for Tesla and China — and a snub for India.

The tech billionaire made his second trip to China in less than a year. He left on Monday after meeting with senior officials, including Premier Li Qiang, China’s second-highest-ranking politician, to discuss the rollout of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology in the world’s biggest auto market.

China’s search-engine giant Baidu agreed to grant Tesla access to its mapping license so Tesla could collect data on China’s roads, Reuters reported. And Tesla’s vehicles cleared a key hurdle with a Chinese data-security regulator on Monday.

That’s a big step for Tesla toward launching FSD in the country, a potential revenue booster just as the company wraps up one of its most tumultuous months. Tesla’s stock is down 23% year to date.

In April, Tesla reported disappointing first-quarter deliveries, went through a messy 10% global layoff, recalled nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks because of faulty accelerators, and cut prices — a move reciprocated by Chinese electric-vehicle rivals, which cut theirs even further.

Tesla has about 1.6 million cars in China, representing a huge potential market for FSD. Other carmakers could also pay to license the technology.

The Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told the Financial Times that the FSD approval in China was a “watershed moment” for Tesla. Ives said the company’s huge valuation — hundreds of billions of dollars more than other automakers — hinged on autonomous technology.

Local regulators may keep a particularly close eye on Tesla’s software. In January, the company had to recall all of its cars in China made from 2014 to 2023 to fix problems with its Autopilot feature and locks. Both problems could be fixed with a free software update.

A win for China and a slight for India

Musk has long been eager to make nice with China, sometimes with antics that would raise eyebrows for other CEOs.

To celebrate a new Shanghai factory in 2020, he performed what a Business Insider reporter at the time deemed a “dad-dance striptease.” On the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party in 2021, he tweeted fawning praise of the country.

China, for its part, has given him a royal welcome on past trips. His trip in May last year included a 16-course meal with a battery executive and a storm of local social-media praise.

As Tesla expands in China, the country must balance its desire to work with the US juggernaut with its inclination to protect local giants such as BYD. In the first quarter, Chinese automakers’ profit jumped 32% from a year ago, according to statistics released Saturday.

Musk needs China, but China also needs Musk as a sign that the country is open for business with high-profile US companies.

Trade tensions between China and the US have ratcheted up in the past year amid US concerns about Chinese manufacturing and data security.

Janet Yellen, the US treasury secretary, and Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, have each visited China in the past month. They warned of Chinese companies undercutting other manufacturers through overproduction, including in EV and battery production.

China has ramped up EV production, a major threat to Tesla. BYD beat Tesla as the best-selling EV maker last year, and Musk said in January that Chinese EVs would “pretty much demolish” other American carmakers if allowed to enter the US.

Tesla’s work in China may help the country court foreign investment. Businesses have been scared off by government crackdowns — including raids on top global firms such as Bain — and by roiling property and stock markets. This year, weakened consumer demand has hit companies such as Gucci and Apple, which have built big businesses as Chinese consumers’ disposable income has risen.

While Musk made time for this quick trip to Beijing, he skipped a planned trip to India earlier this month to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Musk’s visit was going to include an announcement about Tesla entering India, Reuters reported.

“Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting later this year,” Musk posted on X.

A key Tesla executive who was helping to lead the company’s entrance into India left this month, Reuters reported.

Musk’s India visit would have been a win for Modi, who’s seeking to boost India’s status as a manufacturing hub, especially as businesses leave China.

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