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Elon Musk departed the White House last year in disgrace, but all is forgotten and forgiven now that he’s part of the Trump Beijing entourage. Speaking on behalf of US business in China, the mercurial CEO is playing games on both sides of the aisle. He’s keenly aware how Trump tariffs have wreaked havoc on the Tesla brand. But there Musk is, falling in line with Trump’s cabinet officials at the Great Hall of the People, watching respectfully as China’s leader, Xi Jinping, greets the troupe.
Musk’s deference to Xi isn’t new. The Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai produces over a third of Tesla’s global car sales — it’s Tesla’s most productive factory. Tesla’s second factory in Shanghai is a $200-million plant focused on producing Megapack batteries. “Nearly 40% of Tesla’s entire battery supply chain relies on Chinese companies,” Robert Reich writes on his Substack. The former Secretary of Labor boils as he describes how Tesla Shanghai circumvents US workers and has the potential to threaten US national security.
“Do you think Musk cares?” Reich asks.
Musk is one of the uber-wealthy executives who are supposed to be serving the interests of the US while on the China trip and, not coincidentally, advancing the interests of stockholders.
