Tesla boss Elon Musk says he loves China, so Premier Li Keqiang offers him a green card
- Li says he hopes carmaker can play its part in nation’s continued opening up, help promote stable US-China ties
- Pair meet day after groundbreaking ceremony for US company’s new Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he hopes American carmaker Tesla can help drive the country’s continued opening up, and even offered its controversial chief executive Elon Musk Chinese permanent residency, according to the government’s website.
The pair met on Wednesday at Zhongnanhai – the former imperial garden in Beijing that is now home to the headquarters of the Communist Party and the government – two days after Tesla broke ground at its Gigafactory 3 project in Shanghai, its first production base outside the United States.
“I love China and want to come here more often,” Musk was quoted as saying in a report on Gov.cn.
“If you do, we can issue you a Chinese green card,” the premier replied.
Li congratulated Musk on the start of construction at the multibillion-dollar facility, which came just three months after America’s bestselling electric carmaker secured the land at an industrial zone in Lingang.