Zeyi Yang: Yes, she is.
Zoë Schiffer: Can you talk to me about this relationship? And also what Tesla looks like in China? Is it still seen as a popular, nice car?
Zeyi Yang: This is still a bit, because for the longest time Chinese car brands were just as lower than foreign brands. Tesla still has this halo as an American car company. But it loses when we speak. In addition, when we talk about relations between Tesla and China, sometimes I forget how far it goes. There is one very engaging figure that we have to talk about. His name is Zhuanglong. Once he was the Chinese minister of industry and information technology. Basically, the Main Ministry of Innovation in China. In 2008 he went to San Francisco and tried one of the roadster, one of the first electric cars that Tesla creates. Because he came from the automotive industry, he was a nurser of an electric car. This is how it all began. Then, from Musk’s first visit to China in 2014, he met this guy again. He really tried to press his car in China, and later we know that in Shanghai he built Gigafactory in Shanghai. This is the long story of how Musk and Tesla entered China. But for now we know that China is one of the most production facilities for Tesla. It is also one of Tesla’s largest markets. Tesla absolutely cannot lose China.
Zoë Schiffer: It’s really fascinating because we know with other technology companies, such as Google and Meta, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, they managed to get to China and did not succeed or in some cases completely failed. But Elon Musk was able to win. Do we know why it was so?
Zeyi Yang: I think it helps, that he is working on a car company instead of a company on social media, because in China there is so much strict control over information and the Internet. While if you only make a car, you don’t really go through those red lines that China has. It also helps that China, over the past two decades, really thought: “Maybe I should also focus on an electric vehicle as the future of transport.” He welcomed Tesla to take part in a great experiment, as well as investments in the construction of the EV Empire. That is why Tesla became a very central part of it and contributed to how China has achieved so far.
Zoë Schiffer: Well, this leads to my next question, because China has invested really in electric vehicles. Partly, I think to reduce dependence on foreign oil imports. How does this go so far?
Zeyi Yang: I will say quite well. Yes. China does not have a very luxurious oil reserve and imports oil from many other places for the longest time. That is why the Chinese government has always been very cautious, because if, for example, World War III occurs, oil supply will be cut off. What will it do? I think in the early 2000s. The idea for electric vehicles was this idea for the moon. Where they thought: “Maybe, if one day all cars are powered by electricity, we no longer have to import this oil and we will be much more safe if the war breaks out.” Then they really began to invest in research on batteries and electric vehicles as research funds. But this gradually leads to building Chinese companies. They add every car company that can make a product that will operate on the road and customers can buy. All this, after years of huge expenses, leads to what we have now, which is a very developing market for electric vehicles in China. I think the latest data say that over 50% of consumers, when they try to buy a up-to-date car, choose electric, not gas cars. It’s quite amazing.