Elon Musk's first visit to China in three years, Tesla CEO slated to meet senior officials

On Tuesday afternoon, a private jet associated with Elon Musk landed in China. This visit by the outgoing Twitter CEO marks Musk's return to China after a gap of three years. During his visit to China, Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is anticipated to have meetings with senior Chinese officials. Additionally, he is expected to visit Tesla's Shanghai plant, which has been a crucial manufacturing facility for the company.

China's foreign ministry responded to reports of Elon Musk's visit by stating that the country has always been open to welcoming businesspeople from around the world, including Musk. The ministry emphasised that such visits are encouraged “to promote mutually beneficial cooperation”.

Musk meets Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang

During a meeting between China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, and Musk on Tuesday, Qin expressed China's commitment to creating a more favourable market-oriented business environment for enterprises from all countries, including Tesla.

The foreign minister emphasised that China will persistently advance its high-level opening-up policies and work towards establishing an improved international business environment. This statement reflects China's dedication to promoting a conducive atmosphere for foreign businesses to thrive within its market, according to Qin Gang.

What will Musk discuss in China and with whom?

While it remains unconfirmed who Elon Musk intends to meet during his visit to China and the specific topics of discussion, it is known that Tesla has submitted applications to expand its production facilities in Shanghai. However, the approval for these expansion plans is still pending. Musk previously mentioned in an interview with CNBC that there are certain constraints affecting Tesla's ability to expand in China, but he clarified that it is not due to a lack of demand.

In 2022, Tesla's Shanghai plant played a significant role, accounting for more than half of the company's global production. The Shanghai facility has been instrumental in Tesla's efforts to meet the demand for electric vehicles in the Chinese market and has contributed significantly to the company's overall manufacturing output.

Elon Musk might also have an interest in discussing Tesla's full self-driving technology during his visit to China. Tesla has been actively pursuing the introduction of this autonomous driving technology in the Chinese market.

Elon Musk's visit to China coincides with a period when Tesla is facing increasing competition from Chinese car manufacturers, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) sector.

While Tesla has not disclosed specific plans for increasing production at its Shanghai plant, the company has announced its intention to construct a battery farm in Shanghai. This facility will be dedicated to manufacturing Megapack energy storage units. The Megapack is a large-scale battery storage solution designed to support renewable energy projects, grid stabilisation, and other energy storage needs.

Ahead of his trip, the SpaceX CEO, made positive remarks about China's space program, calling it “more advanced than most people realise”.