Elon Musk left India trip and went to Beijing on a surprise visit
Beijing, April 28 (PTI) On a surprise visit to Beijing, billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday met Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang amid speculations of Tesla unveiling its autonomous driving technology in China’s growing electric vehicle (EV) market. And discussed future expansion plans. For your automobile company.
Li told Musk that China’s huge market will always be open to foreign-funded enterprises.
He said China will work hard to expand market access and improve services to provide a better business environment and stronger support to foreign-funded enterprises so that companies from all countries can invest in China with peace of mind.
Tesla’s development in China can be called a successful example of China-US economic cooperation, Li said, adding that the facts have proved that equal cooperation and mutual benefits are in the best interests of both countries.
The Chinese Premier said he hopes the United States and China will meet halfway and promote the stable development of bilateral relations under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state.
According to official media reports, Musk said that Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory is Tesla’s best-performing factory and expressed his willingness to deepen cooperation with China to achieve more win-win results.
Official broadcaster CTGN reported that the SpaceX and Tesla chief visited China at the invitation of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and met Ren Hongbin, chairman of CCPIT, to discuss further cooperation with the country.
Musk is expected to meet senior Chinese officials on the State Council and “old friends” in Beijing, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
His Tesla has become a popular EV in China after setting up a US$7 billion factory in Shanghai, which began production in 2020.
Musk, who recently skipped a scheduled visit to India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cement plans to open a Tesla factory in the country, is visiting Beijing at a time when his Tesla in China is looking to market local EVs. There is a threat from the increasing sales of.
Austin (Texas)-based Tesla has faced stiff competition from Chinese EV makers over the past few years. It has cut prices of its Shanghai-made vehicles by up to six percent to maintain its leading position in China’s premium EV segment.
Grace Tao, Tesla’s vice president of external relations in China, wrote a commentary in China’s official newspaper People’s Daily on Friday, saying that autonomous driving is a major growth driver for the country’s new energy vehicle sector, arguing that the technology Will give birth to new business. Models like Robotaxis, an approach Musk has adopted, the Post reports.
Musk’s latest visit to China coincides with the 2024 Beijing auto show, which opened on Thursday.
As a strong supporter of Beijing in the US, Musk enjoys red-carpet treatment in China, despite concerns over China’s rise across the political divide in Washington.
In 2019, Tesla was allowed to drive cars into the Zhongnanhai campus, a living and working area for Chinese leaders, when former premier Li Keqiang hosted the CEO, and during Musk’s three-day visit to Beijing last June. He was welcomed by the then Foreign Minister. According to Post report, Kin Gang.
The visit was warmly welcomed by the Chinese public, with social-media posts focusing on the Chinese food Musk ate, and some referring to him as a “pioneer” and “Brother Ma”.
Tesla, the leader in China’s premium EV segment, delivered 603,664 Model 3s and Model Ys made at its Shanghai Gigafactory to buyers in China last year, an increase of 37.3 percent compared to 2022.
The growth rate matches the 37 percent increase in sales recorded in 2022 when it delivered about 440,000 vehicles.
Tesla has sold more than 1.7 million cars in China since entering the market in 2012 and its largest factory is located in Shanghai, where Musk enjoys high levels of political support for the project.
In a sign of its further commitment to China, Tesla purchased a parcel of land in Shanghai to build a factory with a planned annual capacity of 10,000 Tesla Megapack batteries, which are used for battery storage stations.
His China visit also coincides with Tesla’s recent announcement to cut its global workforce by “more than 10 percent” to cut costs and boost productivity.
“As we prepare the company for its next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company to cut costs and increase productivity,” Musk said in an email. He said Tesla’s growth has led to “duplication of roles.” and job functions in certain areas.” “As part of this effort, we have conducted a thorough review of the organization and have made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount globally by more than 10 percent. There’s nothing I hate more, but it has to be done. This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle,” he said.
The layoffs, which could affect more than 14,000 people, come two weeks after the electric automaker reported a year-over-year sales decline for the first time in three years. The company also warned that sales growth in 2024 could be “well below” its stated target of 50 percent growth each year, according to a report by state news agency Xinhua.
(This report has been published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, there have been no edits to the copy by ABP Live.)
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