April 29 (Punjab Khabarnama) : Elon Musk in China: Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing on April 28- apparently for a surprise visit to the country after having cancelled his two-day trip to India which was scheduled for April 22. Elon Musk was supposed to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss his plans to launch Tesla in India and introduce products in the country as part of his company’s expansion in the Asian market- one of the biggest potential markets for automobiles. However, he cancelled his plans stating “very heavy Tesla obligations and said that he plans on visiting India later this year for the same.
China, the second largest market for Tesla after the US, has reportedly cleared all key regulatory obligations to roll out self-driving software in the country. During the visit, Elon Musk said that he is a “big fan” of China.
He said, “I’m a big fan of China. I have to say that. I also have a lot of fans in China, well the feelings are reciprocated.”
Social media users reacted to Elon Musk’s visit to China with one writing, “While China is great, your fans here hope you’ll also use influence to promote human rights for all. Progress requires courage at times to stand up for values of openness, fairness & compassion.”
Another commented, “Hmmm, this is potentially Elon’s biggest flaw. Chinese people are great, but their government is something entirely different. The Chinese people’s trust and respect for America is growing though, so that’s a positive.”