During his brief visit to China this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk received a warm welcome, including lavish meals and widespread admiration. Despite being controversial in the West, Musk enjoys significant popularity in China, where Tesla’s electric cars have become a common sight among the urban middle class.
One of Musk’s fans, Zhu Qi, a Tesla owner and university lecturer from Changsha, lauded Musk for his exceptional personal charisma and consistent excellence. She views Musk’s visit as a significant opportunity for China to learn from his insights, given the country’s relative closed-off nature. Zhu also doubted China’s ability to foster individuals like Musk due to its exam-focused education system.
Chinese social media platforms, like Weibo, were buzzing with news of Musk’s visit, with related hashtags generating billions of views. Musk’s trip started in Beijing on Tuesday, where he met top officials and applauded China’s “vitality and potential.” Later, he stopped in Shanghai, where Tesla has a massive production facility. Photos of a 16-course dinner prepared for Musk and featuring various delicacies went viral on social media.
Musk, affectionately known as “Brother Horse” in China, drew a lot of admiration from social media users. However, some also used the opportunity to jab at the US amidst tense relations between the two countries. Memes circulated showing “Comrade Musk” as a statesman, standing by Chinese flags and receiving applause from officials.
However, not all were entranced by the Musk frenzy. Some expressed concerns about a late-night post showing Musk with a group of Tesla employees in Shanghai. This triggered discussions about the tech industry’s culture of long working hours and high stress. A few Weibo users remarked on the outdated practice of keeping employees late into the night for photo ops.
