Do the billionaire’s longstanding ties to Beijing represent a diplomatic opportunity or a clash of political and business interests?
Donald Trump is set to begin his second term in the White House surrounded by China hawks. His pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has campaigned against Chinese influence and championed crackdowns on tech groups such as Huawei. Michael Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, calls China an “existential threat”. However, one of the president-elect’s closest advisers has a much more complicated relationship with China: Elon Musk.
But even then his company remains deeply exposed to American protectionism. Tina Hou, who leads China auto research for Goldman Sachs, estimates that more than 90 per cent of Tesla’s suppliers for the Shanghai factory are Chinese and when Tesla builds factories overseas these suppliers increasingly “go out” with Tesla. According to Mexican officials, dozens of Tesla suppliers have set up operations in Mexico, including Chinese groups.
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