Elon Musk Makes Surprise Visit to Beijing, Meets Premier Li Qiang

Elon Musk made a surprise Beijing visit, meeting Premier Li Qiang amid speculation about unveiling Tesla's autonomous driving plans for China. Musk aims to deepen cooperation as Tesla faces intensifying domestic EV competition.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a surprise visit to Beijing on Sunday, meeting with China's Premier Li Qiang amid speculation that he may unveil Tesla's autonomous driving technology plans for the Chinese market.

During the meeting, Li told Musk that China's huge market will remain open to foreign companies like Tesla. "China will work hard on expanding market access and improving services to provide foreign-funded enterprises with a better business environment and stronger support," Li stated.

Musk expressed his willingness to deepen cooperation with China and achieve more "win-win" results. He noted that Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory is the company's best-performing plant.

The visit comes as Tesla faces intensifying competition from domestic Chinese electric vehicle makers in one of its most important markets. Tesla recently cut prices on its Shanghai-made vehicles by up to 6% to maintain its leading position in China's premium EV segment.

Musk's trip coincides with the Beijing Auto Show, fueling expectations he may announce plans to bring Tesla's self-driving capabilities to its Chinese models. Grace Tao, Tesla's vice president of external relations in China, recently published a commentary arguing autonomous driving will enable new business models like robotaxis.

Also Read: Elon Musk Delays India Visit And Meeting With PM Modi

The billionaire CEO enjoys strong political support in China for Tesla's operations. In 2019, he was allowed to drive Tesla cars into the Zhongnanhai leadership compound when meeting then-Premier Li Keqiang.

Tesla has invested heavily in China, delivering over 600,000 vehicles from its Shanghai factory last year and planning a new factory to produce its Megapack battery storage units.

However, Musk's visit also follows Tesla announcing plans to lay off more than 10% of its global workforce to cut costs and boost productivity amid slowing sales growth.