Hamartia Antidote
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2013
- Messages
- 35,188
- Reaction score
- 30
- Country
- Location
Elon Musk treated like a rock star during China trip: ‘He’s a global idol’
A lack of information did not stop an outpouring of enthusiasm for Musk on Chinese social media. “Elon Musk is just great, if only China could have someone like Elon Musk,” said one use…
nypost.com
Billionaire Elon Musk was showered with praise during a trip to China this week, with people on social media calling him “a pioneer,” “Brother Ma” and “a global idol” while the CEO of Tesla, Twitter, SpaceX and other companies also met in person with three government ministers.
Since landing in Beijing on Tuesday, Musk has met with China’s foreign, commerce and industry ministers and has dined with Zeng Yuqun, chairman of top battery supplier CATL.
Little is known of those conversations. The industry ministry only said Musk and its head exchanged views about development of electric vehicles and connected cars; the commerce ministry announced he discussed Tesla’s development in China with its head. But lack of information did not stop an outpouring of enthusiasm for Musk on Chinese social media.
“He’s a global idol,” commented one user. “Elon Musk is just great, if only China could have someone like Elon Musk,” said another.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk walks next to Tesla’s Senior Vice President Tom Zhu and Vice President Grace Tao.REUTERS
But compared to lower-key welcomes for his counterparts, Musk’s visit is a hot trending topic and his popularity comes despite rising US-China tensions, with keen interest shown in his comments on artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.
Even the menu for the 16-course meal at the upmarket Man Fu Yan restaurant he shared with CATL’s Zeng on Tuesday evening was effusive, photos posted on social media showed.
Illustrated with two rearing horses — a play on the character for horse used in Musk’s Chinese name — the menu described Tesla as a dark horse “standing out from traditional automotive companies.”
In contrast to the social media storm in China and his propensity at home to make waves on Twitter (which he now owns), Musk has yet to make any public statements during his trip. Twitter is blocked in China.