Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “great leader” and said China had prospered substantially during Xi's tenure. The comments came in an interview with China's state broadcaster CCTV on Wednesday, shortly before Xi left China for a summit with US President Donald Trump.
Musk said China's rising prosperity was visible in everyday life and described Xi as highly capable. His remarks were published in a series of videos shared through CCTV's social media account.
The comments carry added significance because Musk has extensive commercial interests in China. Shanghai is home to Tesla's largest overseas manufacturing base, while Musk also controls SpaceX, a major Pentagon and US intelligence contractor. Those overlapping business and government relationships have drawn scrutiny in Washington.
Praise for Tesla's Shanghai operation
Musk described Tesla's Shanghai factory as a “gem” and credited its China team with strong skills, hard work, trustworthiness and efficiency. He also praised China's wider manufacturing capabilities, saying the country had an inherent strength in production that extended beyond the present day.
Musk was expected to attend a White House state dinner on Thursday alongside other prominent US technology executives, including OpenAI's Sam Altman, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Apple's Tim Cook.
Musk's assessment of Chinese AI
Musk extended his praise beyond industrial production. He said Chinese artificial intelligence models were generally outstanding and described China as the strongest performer in terms of performance per unit of computing capacity.
He estimated that China could overcome its computing constraints through advances in lithography and chipmaking in about 2 or 3 years. The comment came weeks after US authorities accused 6 Chinese AI companies, including DeepSeek and Alibaba, of carrying out the “aggressive, malicious and targeted” distillation of US-developed models on an industrial scale.
Beijing rejected those allegations as groundless. Alibaba owns the South China Morning .
Wider predictions on robots and education
During the same interview, Musk predicted that there would be at least one billion human robots within 10 years. He also discussed the possibility that physical and digital robots could increase the productivity of individual people.
Musk recommended broader education so people could formulate better questions for AI. He said the technology would be able to respond immediately to a very large range of requests as robotics and AI expand.
He also praised China's high-speed bullet trains and encouraged people to visit the country, describing China's scale and grandeur in strongly positive terms.
Conclusion
Musk's interview combined praise for Xi Jinping, China's industrial capacity and its AI sector with predictions about robotics and chipmaking. The remarks highlight the close connection between his China-facing business interests and his wider technology views, while also drawing attention to the scrutiny surrounding those ties in Washington.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What did Elon Musk say about Xi Jinping?
Musk called Xi Jinping a “great leader” and said he was very capable.
Q. What did Musk say about Tesla's Shanghai factory?
He described the factory as a “gem” and praised the talent, efficiency and quality of Tesla's China team.
Q. What was Musk's view of Chinese AI models?
He said Chinese AI models were generally outstanding and that China performed best in terms of performance per unit of computing capacity.
Q. When did Musk say China could address computing constraints?
He gave a rough estimate of about 2 or 3 years through progress in lithography and chipmaking.
Q. Why have Musk's China ties drawn scrutiny in Washington?
Musk has business interests in China and controls SpaceX, a major Pentagon and US intelligence contractor.
Q. Which technology executives were expected at the White House state dinner?
Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, Tim Cook and Musk were among the executives expected to attend.
Q. What did Musk predict about human robots?
He predicted that there would be at least one billion human robots within 10 years.
Q. What did Beijing say about the US allegations against Chinese AI companies?
Beijing rejected the allegations as groundless.
