Tesla CEO Elon Musk to Visit Shanghai Plant

Tesla CEO Elon Musk to Visit Shanghai Plant

Elon Musk is reported to be in China this week to visit Tesla’s Shanghai plant and government officials. The Tesla CEO’s trip would be his first to the country in three years and comes at a delicate time as the electric-vehicle maker faces increasing competition from Chinese rivals and considers where to expand its manufacturing capacity.

• Musk landed in Beijing on Tuesday morning and is seeking a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, according to Reuters, which cited people familiar with the matter. Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request from Barron’s.
• One likely topic up for discussion would be Tesla’s decision about whether to expand its Shanghai plant. Tesla is currently looking for its next manufacturing site and India has been cited as a potentially attractive location, which would allow the company to diversify its supply chain away from China.
• Musk isn’t the only big-name CEO headed to China. JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon is expected to make his first visit to mainland China in four years this week, partly to host a business summit in Shanghai.

What’s Next: Western CEOs are doing their best to walk the line between the U.S. and China at a time of rising tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. A public commitment to Chinese manufacturing plans from Musk would be a sign of confidence in the globalized economy, as well as the importance of China’s EV industry to Tesla’s future.

—Adam Clark from Barrons