Wie China Trumps Beziehung zu Elon Musk über Erfolg oder Misserfolg entscheiden wird

**From The Telegraph:**

Dozens of yellow and red robotic arms move swiftly and silently as they assemble the latest range of [Tesla](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/11/03/tesla-hits-out-at-biden-ban-on-chinese-car-tech/) electric cars.

A white sheet of spray paint is then applied before the vehicles move to the final stage of manufacturing ready to be rolled out of Elon Musk’s [gigafactory in Shanghai](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/01/07/elon-musk-breaks-ground-teslas-shanghai-gigafactory/).

Welcome to China’s first fully foreign-owned factory.

The vast building manufactures half of Tesla’s famous electric vehicles (EVs) and has become key to Mr Musk’s global expansion.

But his plans now face a major test in the form of his new close friend, [Donald Trump](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/11/15/trump-tariffs-risk-dividing-world-says-xi-jinping/).

Mr Trump, who has been dining regularly in his Mar-a-Lago club with Mr Musk, see video below, as he assembles his [Cabinet](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/11/22/team-trump-whos-in-and-whos-out/), is on the cusp of launching a major trade war with China

The president-elect threatened up to [60 per cent tariffs on all China imports](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/11/25/how-trumps-tariffs-could-devastate-china/) during the campaign trail. Last week he threatened 10 per cent “additional” tariffs on China if it didn’t stop [fentanyl smuggling](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/comment/2024/11/26/xi-jinping-already-outmanoeuvred-donald-trump-tariff-war/).

Experts have begun to speculate whether China will be the thing that breaks the pair’s growing friendship.

Dexter Roberts, from the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub research body, says: “Musk has huge skin in the game when it comes to US-China relations and he doesn’t need an angry China to lash out at his company because they are upset with Trump.”

Mr Musk has played a key role in Mr Trump’s return to the White House, pumping millions of dollars into the Republican’s campaign and serving as his policy adviser.

Following Mr Trump’s sweeping election victory on Nov 5, Mr Musk posted on the social media platform X, which he owns and has been turned into a mouthpiece for Mr Trump’s campaign: “The future is gonna be fantastic.”

The two share the view that the US federal government needs to go through a thorough reform and that shared mission has led Mr Trump to appoint Mr Musk as co-head of the newly created [Department of Government Efficiency](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/11/13/trump-appoints-elon-musk-government-efficiency-department/), aiming to “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies”.

However, experts say there is a clear contradiction that underlies the budding “bromance” – their approach to China.

Mr Roberts says several of Mr Musk’s companies, including Tesla and [SpaceX](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/11/19/spacex-flight-6-live-trump-watch-starship-launch-with-musk/), are heavily reliant on China’s clear advantage in producing lithium batteries and green energy products.

He adds: “China is very focused on the production of lithium batteries and other components that go into electric vehicles, so if you want to build a technologically sophisticated EV factory, there’s no alternative to China.”

Apart from his outsized business interests that depend heavily on China, Mr Musk has also been cooperative with the Chinese government’s demands. When Chinese authorities recalled more than 285,000 Tesla EVs and asked the company to make changes, Musk complied instantly.