Musk’s private jet lands in China – witness
A private jet used by Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk has arrived in Beijing, according to a Reuters witness.
Musk is expected to meet senior Chinese officials and visit Tesla’s Shanghai plant, sources have said, in what would be his first trip to China in three years.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Musk had arrived in China.
Musk’s private jet, a 2015 Gulfstream G650ER, was shown leaving Alaska on Tuesday morning Asia time before crossing over Japan and South Korea, according to ADS-B Exchange, a flight aggregation website.
The jet with its identifying tail number could be seen at Beijing Capital International Airport yesterday, according to the Reuters witness.
China is Tesla’s second-largest market after the US, and the Shanghai plant is the electric car maker’s largest production hub.
Musk may also meet with Premier Li Qiang to discuss Tesla’s full self-driving technology, which the automaker is seeking to introduce in China, one source said.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives from Shanghai’s government press office and the State Council Information Office of China also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Tesla is nearing the final stages before starting trial production of its revamped Model 3 sedan in Shanghai, which Musk is betting will compete more effectively with Chinese rivals. The revised version is slightly longer than the earlier version, is sportier and has a sleeker interior design.
Tesla’s Shanghai plant accounted for more than half its global production in 2022, and the facility can now produce as many as 1.1 million cars a year. Shipments from Tesla’s Shanghai facility dropped in April, a sign consumers may be casting around for other electric vehicles as manufacturers across the country drop their prices.
The US automaker contributed almost one-quarter of Shanghai’s total automotive production value last year, and local authorities pledged earlier this month to continue to boost ties with the company through autonomous driving and robot modules.