What Elon Musk Has Said About China—Billionaire's Business Ties to US Rival

Elon Musk's ties to China have come under scrutiny during his tenure working in President Donald Trump's administration.

Newsweek reached out to Musk via Tesla's press email for comment.

Why It Matters

Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is an influential player in Trump's second presidency who could shape U.S. policy on a variety of issues including foreign policy. Critics say, however, that his business interests as the CEO of Tesla could pose a conflict of interest for the American public.

Musk's views on China drew attention this week after The New York Times reported that he would receive a briefing about highly sensitive American military plans for any potential war with China. Musk, however, has denied that report.

"The New York Times is pure propaganda," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Also, I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found."

What to Know

Musk, who continues to serve as the CEO of Tesla, does have business in China, which is the second-largest market for the company. Tesla sales in China rose 8.8 percent in 2024. The company also opened a factory in Shanghai in 2019, which The Wall Street Journal reported to be the company's largest factory in the world.

The Journal has also reported that about half of Tesla vehicles are produced at the Shanghai factory.

With a population of more than 1.4 billion people, China is a critical business market for Tesla, even with competition from other companies based in the nation.

He has made several comments about China over the years, including praise for Chinese factory workers in a July 2022 discussion with the Financial Times.

"There is just a lot of super talented hardworking people in China [who] strongly believe in manufacturing," he said. "They won't just be burning midnight oil. They'll be burning 3 a.m. oil. They won't even leave the factory type of thing, where in America people are trying to avoid going to work at all."

In 2021, he praised China's economic growth on the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in a post to X.

"The economic prosperity that China has achieved is truly amazing, especially in infrastructure! I encourage people to visit and see for themselves," he wrote.

The New York Times reported that he called himself "kind of pro-China" in a July 2023 online conversation.

In 2024, Democratic Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts raised concerns about a provision poised to be stripped from a Musk-opposed funding bill that would have limited U.S. money going to China.

"But Elon had a problem. His second-largest market is China. He's building huge factories there. His bottom line depends on staying in China's good graces. He wants to build an AI data center there too—which could endanger U.S. security. He's been bending over backwards to ingratiate himself with Chinese leaders," McGovern wrote.

During a 2023 trip to China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Musk told officials he opposes "decoupling" the U.S. and China economies despite growing tensions between the two countries.

Musk has also weighed in on the ongoing China-Taiwan dispute. China considers Taiwan to be part of its nation—staunchly opposing any independence movements. Taiwanese leaders, however, consider the island to be its own country.

"[China's] policy has been to reunite Taiwan with China. From their standpoint, maybe it is analogous to Hawaii or something like that, like an integral part of China that is arbitrarily not part of China mostly because ... the U.S. Pacific Fleet has stopped any sort of reunification effort by force," he said, according to Reuters.

Trump has appointed several China hawks to his administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Walz.

What People Are Saying

Trump, when asked about the Times report: "I certainly wouldn't want, you know Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible perhaps to that."

Steve Bannon previously told Newsweek, "I've always been public about my deep reservations concerning Elon's financial ties to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party]—the Tesla joint venture underpins his entire business empire and they control it." Bannon also told Newsweek he doesn't believe that Musk didn't support the bipartisan spending bill over its China provisions.

What Happens Next

How Musk may influence U.S. policy on China is yet to be seen.