Tesla and China

But let’s start a little further. In April 2024, Elon Musk went to China to establish relations that have deteriorated somewhat against the background of disagreements between Washington and Beijing. For example, it was previously reported that the Chinese Communist Party banned the use of Tesla electric cars in certain areas where important facilities are located, including government buildings. The cars have built-in cameras that record everything around them, which worries the authorities in the country.

These were not the only problems, but Musk seems to ignore the threats posed by China and the ruling party, which is why he wants to deepen his presence in the country, but many companies from the United States are fleeing there, on the contrary, India and Vietnam.

He met with China’s second-ranking politician, Premier Li Qiang, to discuss introducing Tesla’s fully autonomous driving technology to the world’s largest car market. At the time, sources said a deal was allegedly struck that would see the US company gain permission to distribute its autonomous driving software in China, accounting for 22% of Tesla’s total revenue in 2023 and 42% of revenue outside the US.

A new threat to Tesla

But Musk’s new post could ruin everything if someone tells Xi Jinping about it. The billionaire tweeted an AI-generated video depicting a parody of a fashion show featuring politicians and other wealthy people, including the Pope in a down jacket, dictator Putin in a Louis Vuitton suit, Biden in a wheelchair, Elon Musk in a Tesla-branded spacesuit, Trump in prison garb and handcuffs, and other figures.

Appears for a few seconds among all these people Xi Jinping in a Winnie the Pooh printed suit. It may seem like an innocent joke with nothing wrong with it. But the Chinese President seems to have a long-standing dislike for this fictional character from books and cartoons. The problem is that someone once compared him to this cartoon bear, saying they looked alike, and since then Xi Jinping has been mockingly referred to online as Winnie the Pooh.

Here is this video with different music that Elon Musk published on his page on X. Xi appears at the 23rd second: video

The comparison has been used by critics and enemies of the Chinese president, dissidents and refugees from communist China. Memes containing the comparisons circulated on China’s isolated internet for a long time until they were banned.

This and similar memes were posted on Chinese social networks / Photo: WEIBO/AFP

This and similar memes were posted on Chinese social networks / Photo: WEIBO/AFP

The country even went so far as to ban the screening of the film “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” for fear of a new wave of comparisons, but books about the character are still allowed to be sold and distributed.

So, Elon Musk’s reckless post that he thought was funny, It could trigger a harsh response from Chinese authoritiesGiven Tesla’s large stake in China, such a reaction could turn into a crisis for the electric car manufacturer and disrupt all plans.