He is certainly a controversial figure in the West, but in China he is a superstar: his supporters Elon Muskthe head of American electric car company Tesla, called him “Comrade Musk” during his visit to the country this week.

In the world’s second largest economy, Tesla has become a symbol of the middle class in recent years. And the success of the 51-year-old American billionaire is admirable.

Zhu Qi, Tesla owner in Changsha, doesn’t hesitate to say she “adores” Elon Musk for “his great charm and unwavering excellence in his field.”

“China is still not very open (…), so the fact that people like him come and share some of their knowledge with us, I think is important, something that can inspire our country and its leaders,” — he added. summer university professor.

But “because of our education system with a lot of exams, I think it’s hard for China to prepare someone like Musk,” he said.

Musk, who also leads Twitter, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday and traveled to Shanghai last night, making his first visit to China in more than three years.

“No countries”

Chinese social media kept a close eye on every minute of his stay in the country, and posts on Weibo, the equivalent of Twitter, racked up billions of views.

Musk was received almost like a foreign leader, and he met with many members of the Chinese government in Beijing.

In Shanghai, he visited the Gagafactory assembly plant that Tesla opened in 2019, according to images posted on Weibo by Grace Tao, a public relations officer for the company in China.

His plane took off from China this morning.

Photos from a dinner hosted in his honor on Tuesday have already gone viral.

Many Internet users do not hide their admiration for the businessman: “For Musk, there are no countries on the planet, only markets (…) for selling his products,” someone commented. “This is exactly the kind of limitless capitalism he envisioned.”

“Welcome”

However, some have taken the opportunity to play pranks on the US at a time when Sino-US relations are particularly strained.

Elon Musk is “obviously the only American who is welcomed in China,” one Weibo user noted.

“(US President Joe) Biden has to wonder why China is turning down his invitations to meet with senior US officials but laying out the red carpet for Musk,” asks another.

A meme was circulated this week showing “Comrade Musk,” a reference to the Chinese president standing behind a podium adorned with Chinese flags as officials applaud him.

But not all Chinese succumbed to Musk’s charms.

Some noticed that photos of him visiting the Shanghai factory, where he poses surrounded by hundreds of workers, were uploaded at 12:30 in the morning.

In recent years, more and more technical workers have complained about the long hours and increased stress they face.

“It’s a little outdated to have so many people stay up until midnight just to take pictures,” said one user.

“You worked overtime today, didn’t you?” another asked.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.