Elon Musk went globetrotting to China and scored a big victory for Tesla’s Full Self Drive (FSD) Technology. Or did he?
Who Needs Whom More?
China handed Elon Musk a victory, but that was primarily for political propaganda. Here’s the real setup: Musk Now Needs China More Than It Needs Him
Tesla’s chief executive left the country with assurances that the carmaker will be able to roll out its driver-assistance technology. The software underpins Musk’s hopes for rekindling Tesla’s growth in the world’s biggest electric-vehicle market, where it is being outmaneuvered by homegrown rivals.
China, meanwhile, used his trip to promote its message that it is open to American businesses, despite rising tensions with the U.S. State media quoted Musk giving a stamp of approval to China’s EV market, saying his comments dispelled U.S. concerns about overcapacity. Beijing also sought to show that foreign firms can thrive under its tight regulatory controls over data.
When talking about plans for Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving,” or FSD, features during a call to discuss the company’s dismal earnings last week, Musk said Tesla would release the service “in any market that—where we can get regulatory approval for that, which we think includes China.”
Days later, he flew to Beijing to seek Chinese leaders’ blessing. During his less-than-24-hour visit, Chinese regulators also gave Tesla’s cars clearance for data that they collect on the road, potentially paving the way for the government to loosen bans on the vehicles going to sensitive sites such as military complexes and some government buildings.
Musk also agreed to a deal with China’s Baidu for its FSD rollout, reassuring Chinese leaders over the security risks of Chinese user data.
Chinese state television showed the meeting between Li and Musk. Li, previously the Communist Party chief in Shanghai when Tesla was setting up its production facilities there, called Musk his “old friend” and Musk’s 3-year-old son “a handsome little boy” during their meeting.
“China’s huge market is always open to foreign businesses. China does what it promises,” Li said, according to a government readout of the meeting. China is committed to offering a better business environment allowing foreign corporations to feel safe about investing in China, he added.
Musk has often been a dependable ally to Beijing. He has publicly praised its ruling Communist Party and China’s economic miracle. Musk was rebuked by the government of Taiwan after he described the self-ruled island as China’s equivalent of Hawaii, with Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry suggesting the Tesla CEO had sold himself to Beijing.
Sappy Meeting
This whole thing is dripping with sap. If China needs anything from FSD it will take it.
What China does need is a way to show that it is open for business hoping to stave off US tariffs. China is also looking for any political victories while crossing Biden’s red lines on arms sales to Russia. See China Crossed Biden’s Red Line on Ukraine, So What?
Whatever this little pat-a-cake is all about, it is not going to stave of major trade wars shortly after the November election no matter who wins.
China also needs Tesla to keep exporting EVs from China. It makes it harder for importing countries to put tariffs on Chinese EVs.
“Chinese manufacturers aren’t the problem. European and US manufacturers can copy Tesla’s success with production in China.”
Maybe Musk is looking to sell TESLA to a Chinese company.
“Whatever this little pat-a-cake is all about, it is not going to stave of major trade wars shortly after the November election no matter who wins.”
Phase of the cycle always wins. Glass-steagall was instituted so that 1930 couldn’t happen again. In the roaring 90’s it was dismantled. Things come around full circle. They just don’t call it Smoot-Hawley this time around. The other day an office building that sold for $62 million in 2018, went for $6.7 million at auction. 90% decline. Great Depression numbers.
China is the last resort to sell EV’s to suckers. Not all Chinese are as intelligent as the top 0.1% of a 1.4 billion population we see coming to USA.
On this one, Mish has it 100% correct!
Musk has said rightly that China’s EV makers are “scaringly good”. Tesla’s competition comes from them and not from Detroit or Germany. He will be using the Chinese to test Tesla’s FSD and by doing that can escape Biden and his groupies attempts to crush Tesla by regulatory warfare.
The appeal of FSD from a stock price point of view is that you’ll be able to charge for it and license it to competitors.
In reality, if it ever works, it will be nationalized under the guise of public safety. Or outright stolen in countries like China. It won’t ever be the gravy train that people think it will.
That may be but first we have to see it work and to see it work you need a large testing population and Musk just got it.
SERIOUSLY? I AM CONCERNED ABOUT Joey’s CHINA CONNECTION; IRANIAN CONNECTION; UKRAINIAN CONNECTION; AND HIS DESTRUCTION OF WORLD ORDER AND.OUR COUNTRY. No rule of.law; No borders; NO REPUBLIC!
I heard that the Libertarian Party announced Donald Trump as the headliner for the Libertarian National Convention in May. Is it true or just a rumor and if true what are the implications.
Musk, taking his lead from the FED/Yellen and the BLS/Gov’t data people, will do or say or go anywhere to artificially pump asset and fraud stock prices higher
I listened to that charlatan Kathy wood and her robo taxi numbers for Tesla that are around current GDP levels (I kid you not) and had to quickly turn if off.
It is all a charade and these people are all liars and thieves ……. and the SEC will NEVER do anything to cull their lies
Elon screwed the pooch in the US with his antics, so now he sucking up to an authoritarian somewhere else.
It won’t go well for him.
He screwed things up by not sucking up to America’s dictator and destroyer of its civilization: Crooked Joe Biden
If Biden were dictator, Trump would be dead, and no, none of you keyboard warriors would have done anything effective in response.
But if that’s what you’re after, the Supreme Court is currently considering presidential immunity that can make that happen for you.
Biden has done everything to support EVs and denigrate ELON.
No surprise to me that Musk is out courting favor and legitimacy for self driving cares with China.
There is no self driving technology. Kabuki theatre.
MUSK FOR PRESIDENT ! The world would definitely become a better place as it can t get any worse without leading to utter destruction …In any case much better with a genius like Musk than with a senile corrupt deep state puppet or a narcist fatass without sincere idealistic convictions at all, merely interested in his fckn own interests! The US has become a fckn disgrace and your worthless clueless EU vasals are even worse …for being fckn vasals , corrupt grifting vasals , that is !
He already gets 100’s of billions in subsidies… imagine what he’d do if he was POTUS hahahahaha
better billions in subsidies for Musk than billions for a lost cause in corrupt basketcase Whorekraine ! hahahahaah
imagine you read the US constitution
In other news, ADP jobs report came in at 192k.
https://adp-ri-nrip-static.adp.com/artifacts/us_ner/20240501/ADP_NATIONAL_EMPLOYMENT_REPORT_Press_Release_2024_04%20FINAL.pdf
“Private employers added 192,000 jobs in April
The downvotes tell a story of people wanting the economy to fail so they can get their way. They hypocrisy is that they call themselves patriots.
A Bakers man.
Irony: Elon “champion of free speech” kowtowing to China, the king of free speech repression. The whole thing reeks of desperation. Elon didn’t go woke and now he’s going broke, end of story.
Tesla is on its way to ZERO.
But then so is every other asset on the planet
This trip juiced the stock price by almost 10%.
Mission Accomplished! Even though there is no way Tesla is going to be able to compete in the low end market (they are probably OK in the high end market for now).