This is the tech mogul’s second trip to the world’s largest electric vehicle market in less than a year.
“At the invitation of the China International Trade Promotion Council, Tesla (US) CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing this afternoon,” state broadcaster CCTV announced.
State media reported that Musk met with Ren Hongbin, head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, “to discuss further cooperation steps and other issues.”
E. Musk has many business interests in China and last visited the country in June last year.
Tesla did not respond to earlier requests by the AFP news agency to confirm that Mr. Musk was visiting China or provide details of his agenda.
Mr. Musk is viewed as controversial in the West, but in China, Tesla’s electric vehicles have become an extremely important part of the lives of middle-class urbanites.
Musk’s arrival in China coincides with a fierce price war between companies desperate to get ahead in the highly competitive electric car market.
In addition, there is a huge auto show in Beijing.
In the last quarter of 2023, China’s domestic car giant BYD (eng. Build Your Dreams) overtook Tesla to become the world’s largest electric car sales company.
Tesla regained that title in the first quarter of this year, but BYD remains firmly in the lead in the domestic market.
