Elon Musk’s Unannounced Visit to China Amidst Tesla’s Expansion Plans
News Mania desk/Agnibeena Ghosh/29th April 2024
A private jet associated with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, touched down in Beijing on Sunday, as revealed by a flight tracking application. Two individuals familiar with the matter disclosed that the billionaire had embarked on an unexpected trip to China, one of Tesla’s key markets, intending to hold discussions with senior Chinese officials. Musk’s primary agenda includes deliberations on the deployment of Full-Self Driving (FSD) software in China and the acquisition of authorization to transfer locally collected data overseas for training algorithms for autonomous driving technologies.
Since 2021, Tesla has adhered to Chinese regulatory requirements by storing all data gathered by its Chinese fleet in Shanghai, refraining from transferring any information back to the United States. Despite customers’ appeals, Tesla has not yet introduced FSD, the most autonomous version of its Autopilot software, in China. However, Musk recently hinted at the imminent availability of FSD to Chinese consumers, responding to inquiries on social media platform X.
While Tesla grapples with the FSD rollout, Chinese competitors such as Xpeng have been actively developing similar software, intensifying competition in the autonomous driving sector. Musk’s visit to China was not publicly announced, and the sources spoke anonymously due to lack of authorization to engage with the media. Tesla has not yet responded to requests for comments regarding Musk’s trip.
The visit to China follows Musk’s cancellation of a planned trip to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing pressing Tesla commitments. Earlier this month, Tesla announced a global workforce reduction of 10% as it contends with declining sales and heightened competition in the electric vehicle (EV) market, particularly from Chinese brands.
The Gulfstream private jet with tail number N272BG, affiliated with Falcon Landing—a company connected to SpaceX and Tesla—was observed landing at Beijing Capital Airport. This jet, registered under Falcon Landing, is distinct from Musk’s primary jet, N628TS, which he utilized during his previous visit to China nearly a year ago.
Tesla’s presence in China has significantly expanded since its market entry a decade ago, with the Shanghai factory emerging as its largest globally. Musk’s visit coincided with the Beijing autoshow, although Tesla opted not to participate this year. Meanwhile, General Motors CEO Mary Barra reportedly made an impromptu appearance at the show.
In a commentary published on the social media account of state media outlet People’s Daily, Tesla’s Vice President Grace Tao emphasized the significance of autonomous driving technologies in driving growth in the EV industry. Tao highlighted Tesla’s leadership in autonomous driving research and development, leveraging its “end-to-end neural network” technology and extensive data collected from vehicles on the road.
Experts point out that China’s complex traffic conditions, characterized by high pedestrian and cyclist presence, offer valuable scenarios for training autonomous driving algorithms. Last week, Musk announced Tesla’s plans to introduce new, more affordable models using existing EV platforms and production lines, alongside the launch of a new “robotaxi” equipped with self-driving technology.
Despite Tesla’s ambitious plans, concerns about its growth trajectory have led to a decline in its share value, with the company reporting its first quarterly revenue drop since 2020. Nonetheless, Musk remains optimistic, announcing plans to unveil the robotaxi on August 8.
