Tesla’s chief executive officer Elon Musk has finally wrapped up his three-day visit to China, his first visit to the East Asian country in three years.
His trip to China was filled with worthwhile activities. He met with China’s foreign minister in Beijing, met Shanghai’s Communist Party chief, and visited Tesla’s Shanghai factory, where he got the chance also to thank the workers there.
The Tesla CEO also held separate meetings with China’s tech and commerce ministers to talk about matters not just related to electric vehicles and connected cars but also Tesla’s development in the country and even relations between the United States and China.
Musk’s private jet left Hongqiao airport in Shanghai yesterday.
Thanks
During his Wednesday visit to Tesla’s Shangai Gigafactory, Musk praised the facility’s success, saying he would like to work more with this Chinese city in various aspects.
He also praised the employees there for meeting him at almost midnight.
“Thank you for being here last night. I would very much like to congratulate you on the amazing work that you have done. It’s been incredibly impressive how you have been able to overcome so many difficulties and so many challenges,” the Tesla CEO spoke in front of a huge crowd of workers, as shown on a video posted by Tesla China on Chinese social media, Weibo. “I just want to let you know, it warms my heart.”
Then, Musk made a fist pump after tapping his chest. His statements were given with roaring applause and cheers.
He also gestured the famous “heart” sign with his hands, then said the cars produced in Tesla’s Shanghai factory are the “highest quality.”
“I tell people throughout the world, the cars we produce here are not just the most efficient production, but also the highest quality,” he said.
Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory is the company’s biggest car manufacturing plant and first plant outside the United States.
Furthermore, Tesla also plans to preview its revamped Model 3 sedan in Shanghai, according to a news report on Bloomberg.
Yielded nothing concrete
However, despite the many meetings that Musk conducted while he was in China, some are saying that they actually yielded nothing “concrete.”
Daniel Ren, the Shanghai bureau chief of the Hong Kong-based English-language Chinese newspaper South China Morning Post, wrote how Musk wrapped up his trip by meeting Shanghai’s Communist Party chief Chen Jining, but it yielded nothing substantial.
“Tesla chief executive Elon Musk left Shanghai for Texas on Thursday morning after meeting Shanghai Communist Party boss Chen Jining… But no concrete deals or agreements were signed during this trip, despite mounting speculation about Tesla’s plan to expand its Shanghai Gigafactory,” Ren said.
