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Why is Elon Musk’s surprise trip this week to China so important?
The Chinese official news agency Xinhua posted a photograph on Tuesday night of Tesla CEO Elon Musk in formal conversation with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang. The previously unannounced meeting, which took place in Beijing, is an important milestone for Tesla, as it signals a turn in the economic relationship of the all-electric car company and the biggest automotive market in the world.
Vice Premier Wang is one of China’s foremost economic decision-makers. He has not ever previously met alone with an automotive CEO like Musk, generally preferring group dynamics, according Li Anding, Xinhua’s former automotive reporter and current China industry analyst, as reported by Forbes.
The Musk-Wang consultation could be groundbreaking in several ways.
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang meets with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Beijing pic.twitter.com/HSM5kxBvYF
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 25, 2017
The meeting between Musk and Wang took place concurrent with the Shanghai Auto Show, where many automakers chose to unveil their newest electric cars. By early 2018, automakers in China are required to offer at least 8 percent electric vehicles out of their total manufactured vehicles. The beginning of Q1 in China saw vehicle imports rise 376% as compared to the same period in 2016, according to JL Warren Capital.
Chinese consumers bought 24 million passenger cars last year. With 1 million electric vehicles in 2016, China experienced an 87 percent increase over the previous year. Tesla has revealed that its 2016 China sales tripled to $1 billion+ at a time when its 2016 U.S. sales were around $4.2 billion.
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China is a formidable market for Tesla to tap. If Tesla could produce cars locally as part of a joint venture, which is required in China, the stiff 25% tariffs on Tesla’s imported cars could be alleviated and would reduce the cost of buying a Tesla in China. That would open up entirely new consumer audiences for Tesla there. Electric vehicles in China start at about $6,000 and have a cost range of up to $200,000— the luxurious Tesla.
Tesla has proven already to China that it is able to adopt its production to be be consistent with China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), in which energy goals include movement toward a larger percentage of electric vehicles (EVs) on China’s roads. Yet, many of that country’s new electric car companies are experiencing startup woes of long charging times and an overall poor driver experience, Li acknowledged.
If, as has been rumored, Tesla has been having discussions with several interested partners from various Chinese cities, the automaker might be close to making a deal. And, as Vice Premier Wang is a former leader of the Guangdong province, that region might be high on the Tesla sights for one of its first regional facilities.
Musk’s visit coincides with a voluntary recall this week in China of 6,634 Tesla Model S and Model X due to a potential defect in its electric parking brake. Tesla Auto Sales (Beijing) Co. contacted the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) to apprise the state of the situation. Tesla has agreed to replace defective brake calipers at no cost.
Elon Musk has updated his timeline for when humans will walk on Mars and for when ships will simply get there.
The objective of getting to Mars has been one of Musk’s biggest goals since becoming a serial entrepreneur and realizing that time on Earth is limited. Musk has said several times he hopes to die on Mars, and not by impact.
Musk now believes that people will be on Mars in “roughly 5 to 7 years.” He said that a Mars lander will get there “a few years sooner.”
People on Mars in roughly 5 to 7 years.
Mars lander a few years sooner.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
The response from Musk comes after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that SpaceX’s biggest priority is the Moon and not Mars. Because of this, Isaacman conceded that he believes nuclear power and propulsion investments will provide “potentially the pathway with the fewest miracles required to put four people on Mars in the next 10 to 15 years.”
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Of course, this is what NASA can do through taxpayer funding and nuclear investments, he added.
Musk’s grand ambitions are much more optimistic than most, and it is certainly a double-edged sword. This is not the first time timelines for Mars have been somewhat lofty, especially to those normal thinkers like you and me, not super geniuses like Musk.
In fact, the SpaceX and Tesla frontman has said on at least a dozen occasions that we could be on Mars in the coming years. Musk said 2020 would be the big year as early as 2009. In 2020, he was “highly confident” of a landing in 2026, and had even said 2024 in a best-case scenario.
The point is, the range has varied, and it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll get there. This latest adjustment to the timeline is typical of Musk, and while the Moon has seemingly taken priority over Mars, it is still worth mentioning that the ultimate goal is to make life multiplanetary, and it starts potentially with the Red Planet.
SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) got an absolutely crazy price target rating from Raymond James after the company experienced a tough first few weeks following its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Despite the tumultuous start, SpaceX has plenty of believers, and the company’s massively successful Starship launch last Friday, its 13th test flight of the massive rocket, went so smoothly that Raymond James analysts pushed its price target on the company to roughly 7 times its current trading level.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
The firm officially put a “Strong Buy” rating and an $800 price target on the stock. It currently trades at around $113. Its all-time high is $225.64, reaching this trading level shortly after shares first went public.
Raymond James’ price target is tied to the firm’s confidence after Starship’s 13th test flight. Analysts at the firm said it was an incremental step that reduces engineering risks, citing the widely successful heat shield test that CEO Elon Musk recently detailed, the smooth deployment of Starlink V3 satellites, and a successful in-space engine relight.
SpaceX also managed to see Starship splash down safely in the Indian Ocean, while the Super Heavy Booster fell down to the Gulf of America with no incidents.
It is interesting to see these launches have such a tremendous impact on the stock and what investors think of it. After SpaceX initially delayed the Starship launch last week, shares fell tremendously. Most probably did not realize that the stand-down is a standard practice, especially if everything is not perfect.
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The mission was initially aborted due to an issue with Raptor engines. This was resolved, and Starship launched last Friday after another delay on Thursday, which was caused by weather.
Now that analysts have seen what SpaceX launches are capable of and how impressive the feat is, firms are adjusting their price targets accordingly, making it known that they have high expectations for the space exploration company.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to reports that Volvo is officially discontinuing the LiDAR sensor on two of its cars.
Volvo announced that it would officially scrap LiDAR systems on its EX90 and ES90 vehicles in various markets. In Norway, owners will get a €1,800 compensation for features that will never arrive due to this decision. There will be no option to remove the unit from vehicles, either.
The issue stems from Volvo’s supplier, Luminar, and its bankruptcy filing. Luminar will no longer be able to supply LiDAR units to Volvo for the EX90 and ES90, effectively axing any use the unit has on vehicles. Volvo will phase out the data collection processes via the LiDAR system, and it will not be utilized whatsoever.
Musk saw the story on X and responded, stating:
“I did try to warn them. Humans drive using neural nets and optical sensors. Same is true for robot cars.”
I did try to warn them.
Humans drive using neural nets and optical sensors. Same is true for robot cars.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
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Musk has been publicly vocal about his disdain for LiDAR systems, once calling them “a fool’s errand,” as he has consistently kept the outlook that they are not needed for effective self-driving.
The typical example used as evidence for this by Musk is humans themselves: made with only eyes and memories, humans are capable of navigating a car by using what they can see and what they’ve personally experienced on the road.
Elon Musk argues lidar and radar make self driving cars more dangerous
“Same is true for robot cars,” Musk says, as Teslas have eight exterior cameras that help see everything surrounding the vehicle, and a neural network that analyzes behavior and tendencies with every mile driven.
Tesla is a vision-only self-driving company that ditched sensors and radar several years ago in favor of cameras. Behind this effort, the company has established a reputation for having one of the most robust self-driving platforms in the world.
Musk’s big bet with Tesla on its self-driving program’s strategy has widely paid off. Other companies continue to utilize things like LiDAR, radar, and sensors for effective self-driving, but Tesla has shown that there is more than one way to give consumers a strong and accurate driver assistance suite.
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The real question is: who will be the first company to take Musk’s advice and attempt a self-driving platform based on cameras only, or even license FSD for themselves?
Elon Musk updates the SpaceX timeline for Mars
SpaceX gets an absolutely crazy price target after rough IPO
