Elon Musk in China: Tesla CEO leaves for Texas after meeting Shanghai Communist Party boss as visit yields nothing concrete
- Musk met Shanghai Communist Party boss Chen Jining on Thursday morning, following which he left by his private jet for Austin, Texas
- Musk lauded the ‘amazing’ work of Tesla’s employees during a visit to the carmaker’s Shanghai factory on Wednesday evening, where he was greeted by hundreds of staff
But no concrete deals or agreements were signed during this trip, despite mounting speculation about Tesla’s plan to expand its Shanghai Gigafactory.
Musk met Chen in the morning before leaving by his private jet from Hongqiao International Airport at 11.23am, according to two sources with knowledge of his itinerary in Shanghai. The flight is bound for Austin, Texas, the carmaker’s headquarters.
Chen told Musk that Shanghai is resolute in drawing the world’s top businesses and pledged to cater to companies’ demands during plant construction and operation, according to a statement published by Shanghai’s municipal government on Thursday. Tesla is welcome to bring new products, new technologies and new services to Shanghai, he said to Musk, according to the statement.
The Tesla CEO expressed his thoughts on developing new environmentally friendly products to tap the market in China, the statement said without elaborating.
Meanwhile, a local government source told the Post that Shanghai officials are determined to support Tesla’s capacity expansion.