LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Tesla (TSLA.O) Chief Executive, Elon Musk, is expected to visit China this week, three people with knowledge of the matter said, in what would be his first trip to the country in three years.
According to two people, Musk will meet with top Chinese officials and visit the Tesla factory in Shanghai.
Who Musk would meet and what they would talk about weren’t immediately clear. Since the trip was private, the people who knew it declined to give their names.
Requests for comment from Tesla and the Chinese State Council Information Office were not promptly fulfilled.
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According to Reuters, in March, Musk was considering visiting China and arranging a meeting with Premier Li Qiang as early as April. However, the precise date would depend on Li’s schedule.
After the United States, China is Tesla’s second-largest market, and its Shanghai facility serves as the company’s primary production base.
Additionally, Musk owns the social media site Twitter, which is blocked in China but accessible to some users via virtual private networks (VPNs).
Since he caused a stir online by dancing on stage at an event at Tesla’s Shanghai facility in early 2020, Musk’s trip would be his first to China.
It would also occur when Tesla is dealing with a number of problems, including heightened competition from Chinese manufacturers who are exporting their electric vehicles built in China as demand in the largest auto market in the world declines.
Although it announced in April that it would construct a facility in Shanghai to create Megapack energy storage devices, Tesla has not yet provided an update on its plans to raise output at its Shanghai plant by 450,000 vehicles annually.
To increase the production of powertrains at the Shanghai facility to a yearly capacity of 1.75 million units, the business has submitted plans to the local government.
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With over 100 firms and a capacity glut in the auto industry, China’s state planner has been cautious about sanctioning new production capacity.
Musk stated to CNBC this month that “some restrictions exist on our ability to expand in China.” It’s not a demand problem, he continued.
In the same interview, Musk stated that tensions between the United States and China “should be a concern for everyone.”
Tesla is constructing a plant in Mexico that will likely create a less expensive electric vehicle built on its next-generation architecture.
