According to Breitbart, Elon Musk’s tangled love affair with Communist China continues. Tom Zhu is currently the chief of operations for China at Tesla. Reuters reported the promotion initially, claiming that it was an internal posting. Security concerns could arise from Zhu being promoted to Head of Plants and Sales USA. Since all Chinese companies are under the direct surveillance of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and accountable to them, Zhu will continue to answer to the CCP.
The CCP can request data and specific actions from Zhu, a Chinese executive. How can Musk know that Zhu will not share information about his U.S. job? CCP has one of the most restrictive surveillance and censorship regimes in the world. It mandates “civil–military Fusion,” which allows the Chinese military to access all economic information. Is Zhu a security threat?
Tesla’s market capitalization fell $700 billion this year. The company also saw a 47% drop in share prices since October. Breitbart reported that this happened even though Musk spent $44billion to purchase Twitter. The COVID-19 lockdowns in China also slowed Tesla’s production and led to recalls.
Zhu’s promotion may be a solution to Tesla’s problems. However, I am curious if this is a Chinese move to boost support for Tesla. Musk said Taiwan should be part of Communist China. He was tax exempted from Tesla in China immediately afterwards. Musk also published an article in CCP state publication. This was issued by the state agency that controls tech companies. It urged increased Chinese investment in his projects including AI and brain microchips. Musk may argue that if pandering to the genocidal CCP worked in the past, why shouldn’t it again?
Zhu will serve as both Tesla Head for Plants and Sales in America and Vice President of Greater China, despite the fact that the reasons are not known. Zhu will answer both Musk and the CCP.
The whole history of Tesla’s success in China appears to have been a compromise of principles for CCP favors. Breitbart cited Peter Schweizer’s book Red-Handed. How American Elites Get Rich Helping China win. It stated that Musk initially said he wouldn’t open Tesla factories in China but later changed his mind. Why? Why?
Musk is both widely criticized and praised for his recent efforts to bring more freedom of speech to Twitter. He is still a hypocrite regarding Communist China.
