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US-China tech war
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Tesla’s Elon Musk scores public relations coup with bylined article in Chinese government journal

  • Musk’s relationship with Beijing peaked in early 2019 when Tesla broke ground on a wholly-owned Gigafactory in Shanghai
  • The importance of the Chinese market means US executives like Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook avoid negative topics amid deteriorating US-China relations

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Elon Musk arrives for an event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, May 2, 2022. Photo: Reuters
Coco Feng

The article Elon Musk penned for the official journal of China’s powerful internet watchdog was a public relations coup that could help mend the Tesla founder’s battered reputation with Beijing, according to analysts.

Musk, 51, wrote in China Wangxin, the monthly magazine of China’s powerful internet watchdog, that he was happy to share his “thoughts on technology and human’s vision” with “Chinese friends”.

The three-page article in the official journal of the Cyberspace Administration of China was widely seen as a public relations triumph for Tesla after it was mired in multiple controversies in the country. Musk’s relationship with Beijing peaked in early 2019 when Tesla broke ground on a wholly-owned Gigafactory in Shanghai, and the billionaire businessman was offered the Chinese equivalent of a green card during a meeting with Premier Li Keqiang.

But Tesla soon became a target for Chinese regulators and received extensive negative press coverage and online criticism over perceived quality and safety issues. Tesla vehicles were banned from some government premises over concerns they could send data to the United States, even though Tesla denied the claim.

Public admiration for Musk as a successful entrepreneur has also waned, while Starlink – his satellite internet system under Space Exploration Technologies Corp – is viewed by some Chinese analysts as a potential national security threat.

Musk has tried to maintain amicable ties with China. For the Chinese Communist Party’s centenary in July, he tweeted that the country’s economic prosperity was “truly amazing, especially in infrastructure! I encourage people to visit and see for themselves”.

Musk penned the Wangxin article under the title of Tesla chief executive and member of the National Academy of Engineering. His role as founder and head of SpaceX was not mentioned, even though his article also discussed space exploration.

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