The owner of "Tesla", "SpaceX" and the social platform "X" Elon Musk, who is one of the richest people in the world, arrived in China today, Beijing officials told China Central Television, AFP and Reuters reported, as quoted by BTA.
"This afternoon the CEO of "Tesla" Elon Musk arrived in Beijing at the invitation of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China Central Television reported.
The visit was not announced in advance.
Earlier today, a flight tracking app showed that a private jet connecting with Musk had landed in Beijing this morning, and two sources familiar with the matter said the billionaire was making a surprise visit to the country, the second-largest a large market for its cars, Reuters reported.
Musk met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. During the visit, the Chinese politician stated that the development of "Tesla" in China can be considered a successful example of Sino-American trade and economic cooperation, Chinese media reported.
Musk himself confirmed the meeting with a post on "X", publishing a photo of the meeting.
"It was an honor to meet Premier Li Qiang. We have known each other for many years, from the early days in Shanghai," the billionaire said.
Earlier today, it was reported that Musk is expected to discuss with senior Chinese government officials the deployment of software for fully self-driving cars (PSD) and seek approval to transfer data collected in the country to train algorithms for the technology for autonomous driving.
From 2021, the company “Tesla” stores all data collected from its cars in Shanghai, as required by Chinese regulators, and has not transferred any of it to the US.
China's complex traffic conditions, with more pedestrians and cyclists than many other markets, provide more scenarios that are key to faster training of autonomous driving algorithms, according to industry experts cited by Reuters. Last week, Musk said his company would introduce new, lower-cost models using its current EV platforms and production lines, and offer a new "robotaxis" with self-driving technology.
The US electric car maker introduced PSS, the most human-independent version of its autopilot software, four years ago, but has yet to make it available in China, despite customer demand.
Earlier this month, in response to an inquiry on the social platform “X“ Musk said he would make the PSS available to customers in China “very soon”.
Local Chinese automakers such as "Span" (Xpeng) are trying to gain an advantage over “Tesla” by implementing similar software.
Musk's visit to China has not been made public, and the sources spoke on condition of anonymity. From “Tesla” also no comment yet.
The trip comes just over a week after the businessman pulled out of a planned visit to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing “very heavy duties at “Tesla”.
This month, the company said it would cut 10 percent of its global workforce as it grapples with declining sales and an intensifying electric car price war led by Chinese brands.
"Tesla" has sold more than 1.7 million cars in China since it entered the market ten years ago, and the factory in Shanghai is the largest in the world.