Why Musk Now Needs China More Than It Needs Him


马斯克在北京短暂停留，与李强会面，此行突显出特斯拉与中国政府之间的权力动态正在发生变化。中国利用马斯克访华传递了这样一个信息：中国仍对美国企业开放。



马斯克(Elon Musk)在北京短暂停留，与中国国务院总理李强会面，此行突显出特斯拉(Tesla)与中国政府之间的权力动态正在发生变化。 6park.com
Elon Musk’s whistle-stop trip to Beijing for an audience with China’s Premier Li Qiang highlighted how the power dynamic is shifting between Tesla and the Chinese government. 6park.com
特斯拉首席执行官马斯克离开中国时，已经确信这家汽车制造商将可以在中国推出其驾驶辅助技术。该软件支撑着马斯克重振特斯拉在华增长的希望。在中国这个全球最大电动汽车市场，特斯拉正被本土竞争对手超越。 6park.com
Tesla’s chief executive left the country with assurances that the carmaker will be able to roll out its driver-assistance technology. The software underpins Musk’s hopes for rekindling Tesla’s growth in the world’s biggest electric-vehicle market, where it is being outmaneuvered by homegrown rivals. 6park.com
  
与此同时，中国利用马斯克此行传递了这样一个信息：尽管与美国的紧张关系日益加剧，但中国仍对美国企业开放。中国官方媒体援引称马斯克对中国的电动汽车市场给予了肯定，称他的言论说明美国对产能过剩的担忧是没有必要的。中国政府还试图显示出，外国公司可以在其对数据的严格监管下蓬勃发展。 6park.com
China, meanwhile, used his trip to promote its message that it is open to American businesses, despite rising tensions with the U.S. State media quoted Musk giving a stamp of approval to China’s EV market, saying his comments dispelled U.S. concerns about overcapacity. Beijing also sought to show that foreign firms can thrive under its tight regulatory controls over data. 6park.com
 
分析人士说，马斯克取得了胜利，但上述会面凸显出，虽然中国对特斯拉仍然至关重要，但中国政府现在不那么需要特斯拉来刺激其电动汽车和自动驾驶产业。特斯拉在中国的销量已下滑，其在华竞争对手在中国市场推出了数百款新车型，导致这家美国汽车制造商的季度汽车销量出现自2020年以来的首次同比下滑，利润也大幅下降。 6park.com
Musk emerged with a win, analysts said, but the meetings underscored that while China remains crucial to Tesla, Beijing now needs Tesla less to spice up its EV and autonomous-driving industry. Tesla has seen China sales fall as its rivals there flood the market with hundreds of new models, contributing to the American carmaker’s first year-over-year quarterly car sales decline since 2020 and a sharp profit drop. 6park.com
“中国曾需要特斯拉来打开电动汽车市场，但我不确定中国还需要特斯拉来打开自动驾驶汽车市场，”Automobility驻上海的顾问Bill Russo说。他说，一些中国公司已经具备了自主研发先进驾驶技术的能力。 6park.com
“China needed Tesla to open the EV market, I’m not sure China needs Tesla to open the market for autonomous vehicles,” said Bill Russo, a Shanghai-based consultant for Automobility. Some Chinese companies are already capable of sophisticated driving technology on their own, he said. 6park.com
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在往来初期，每当马斯克访问中国，中国官员都会对他盛情款待。他们为特斯拉在上海建厂提供了土地、低息贷款和税收优惠，中国政府的认可提升了中国市场消费者对特斯拉的接受度。时任国务院总理李克强甚至曾在2019年乘坐特斯拉汽车在中央领导办公的中南海大院内兜了一圈。 6park.com
Chinese officials feted Musk when he went to China in the early years of the relationship. They offered land, low-interest loans and tax incentives for Tesla to build a factory in Shanghai and its approval boosted consumers’ perception of Tesla in the world’s biggest auto market. Then Premier Li Keqiang even took a Tesla for a spin within the gated Zhongnanhai leadership compound in 2019. 6park.com
 
这笔交易对双方都很有利。特斯拉帮助点燃了中国的电动汽车产业，如今中国的电动汽车产业已令世界艳羡。上海成为特斯拉最具生产力和成本效益的工厂，使其能够降低汽车价格。特斯拉在中国生产的Model 3和Model Y销量激增，使中国成为其第二大市场和出口中心。 6park.com
The deal worked out well for both sides. Tesla helped ignite China’s EV industry, which is now the envy of the world. Shanghai became Tesla’s most productive and cost-efficient factory, enabling it to lower the prices of its cars. Sales of Tesla’s made-in-China Model 3 and Model Y soared, making the country its second-biggest market, as well as an export hub. 6park.com
 
但是，受到特斯拉启发的中国汽车制造商如今已成为特斯拉的劲敌，不仅抢占特斯拉在中国的市场份额，还在海外对其构成越来越大的挑战。很多分析师对于特斯拉将扩建其上海工厂、以生产更平价的电动汽车的预期已经降温。特斯拉正在利用最初工厂附近的一个地块生产其用于储能的Megapack。 6park.com
But Chinese carmakers inspired by Tesla have become fierce rivals, gobbling up its market share there and increasingly challenging it overseas. Expectations among many analysts that Tesla would expand its Shanghai factory to manufacture a more affordable EV have dimmed. Instead, a plot of land adjacent to its initial plant is being used by Tesla to produce its energy-storage Megapacks. 6park.com
 
特斯拉上海汽车工厂的工人说，由于没有满负荷运转，运营时间从3月份的每周七天缩短到了每周五天。 6park.com
Workers at the car factory say operating hours were cut to five days a week from seven in March as it wasn’t running at full capacity.


特斯拉在中国正面临着来自本土竞争对手的激烈竞争。

在上周讨论特斯拉低迷财报的电话会议上，马斯克在谈到特斯拉的完全自动驾驶(FSD)功能计划时说，特斯拉将在“任何我们能获得监管部门批准的市场”发布这项服务，“我们认为其中包括中国。” 6park.com
When talking about plans for Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving,” or FSD, features during a call to discuss the company’s dismal earnings last week, Musk said Tesla would release the service “in any market that—where we can get regulatory approval for that, which we think includes China.” 6park.com
 
几天后，他飞往北京寻求中国领导人的支持。在他不到24小时的访问期间，中国监管机构还宣布特斯拉的两个车型被列入汽车数据安全符合国家安全标准的车型名单，这可能为中国政府放松禁止特斯拉汽车进入军事场所和一些政府大楼等敏感场所这一禁令铺平了道路。 6park.com
Days later, he flew to Beijing to seek Chinese leaders’ blessing. During his less-than-24-hour visit, Chinese regulators also gave Tesla’s cars clearance for data that they collect on the road, potentially paving the way for the government to loosen bans on the vehicles going to sensitive sites such as military complexes and some government buildings. 6park.com
 
马斯克还与中国的百度(Baidu)就推出FSD达成协议，让中国领导人对中国用户数据的安全风险放心。 6park.com
Musk also agreed to a deal with China’s Baidu for its FSD rollout, reassuring Chinese leaders over the security risks of Chinese user data. 6park.com
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Hutong Research创始合伙人Feng Chucheng说，在中国推进特斯拉的FSD对北京方面来说具有战略价值，中国希望把自身打造为成为一个全球数据领导者。Feng说，这将是中国政府所渴求的，有助证明其数据监管制度正变得更有吸引力。 6park.com
“Pushing forward Tesla’s FSD in China is of strategic value to Beijing, which aspires to build itself as a global data leader,” said Feng Chucheng, founding partner at Hutong Research. “This will be much desired for Beijing to prove that its data regulatory regime is gaining traction.” 6park.com
 
中国国家电视台报道了李强与马斯克的这次会面。当年特斯拉在上海建厂时，李强是时任上海市委书记。李强在此次会面中称马斯克为“老朋友”，并把马斯克三岁的儿子称作“帅小哥”。 6park.com
Chinese state television showed the meeting between Li and Musk. Li, previously the Communist Party chief in Shanghai when Tesla was setting up its production facilities there, called Musk his “old friend” and Musk’s 3-year-old son “a handsome little boy” during their meeting. 6park.com
 
与此形成对比的是，中国公司拥有的视频分享应用TikTok的首席执行官赴华盛顿出现在美国议员面前时则受到了拷问。此外，美国总统拜登(Joe Biden)几天前签署了一项法律，该法律要求对TikTok剥离美国业务，否则该应用将在美国被禁。 6park.com
The encounter marked a contrast to the grillings the CEO of Chinese company-owned TikTok has received during appearances before lawmakers in Washington. It also came days after President Biden passed a law ordering the video-sharing app’s U.S. operations to be sold or face a ban. 6park.com
 
在外商直接投资下降之际，李强利用上周日与马斯克的会面向外企发出了一个信号：中国政府欢迎他们在华开展业务。 6park.com
Li used Sunday’s meeting with Musk to signal to foreign businesses that the government welcomes their presence, at a time when foreign direct investments are falling. 6park.com
 
据政府发布的此次会面通稿，李强说：“中国的超大规模市场将始终向外资企业敞开。中方言出必行。”他说，中方将为外资企业提供更优的营商环境，让各国企业安心、放心地投资中国。 6park.com
“China’s huge market is always open to foreign businesses. China does what it promises,” Li said, according to a government readout of the meeting. China is committed to offering a better business environment allowing foreign corporations to feel safe about investing in China, he added. 6park.com
 
中共党报旗下带有民族主义色彩的《环球时报》在一篇文章中称，中国目前的电动汽车产能是由中国公司和外企共同打造的。这是在回应美国关于中国存在电动汽车产能过剩问题的说法。 6park.com
Global Times, a nationalistic Communist Party-backed newspaper, said in an article that China’s current EV capacity has been jointly forged by both Chinese and foreign companies, in response to U.S. claims that China had a problem with EV overcapacity. 6park.com
 
马斯克上周日表示未来所有的汽车都将是电动的，中国官方媒体的评论文章强调了他的这一说法。相关评论文章称，基于马斯克所说的，产能不仅没有过剩，还远远不足。 6park.com
State media commentary highlighted Musk’s comment Sunday that all cars would be electric in the future. “Based on what Musk said, not only is there no overcapacity, it is far from sufficient,” the commentary said. 6park.com
 
美国财政部长耶伦(Janet Yellen) 4月初访问北京期间曾发出关于中国工业产能过剩的警告。出于牵扯到中国汽车所收集数据的国家安全关切，拜登政府已酝酿对中国汽车的限制。欧盟在调查中国政府的电动汽车补贴之际，正考虑对中国汽车加征关税。 6park.com
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned against industrial overcapacity in China during a visit to Beijing in early April and the Biden administration has mooted restrictions on Chinese cars over national-security concerns related to the data they collect. The European Union is considering imposing tariffs on Chinese cars as it investigates state EV subsidies. 6park.com
  
对中国政府来说，马斯克常常是一个可靠的盟友。他已公开赞扬执政的中国共产党以及中国的经济奇迹。马斯克在把自治岛屿台湾描述为中国的夏威夷之后曾遭到台湾政府的斥责，台湾外交部暗示这位特斯拉首席执行官向中国政府出卖了他自己。 6park.com
Musk has often been a dependable ally to Beijing. He has publicly praised its ruling Communist Party and China’s economic miracle. Musk was rebuked by the government of Taiwan after he described the self-ruled island as China’s equivalent of Hawaii, with Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry suggesting the Tesla CEO had sold himself to Beijing. 6park.com
  
马斯克是在推迟一趟印度之行的一周后前往中国的。印度是中国的另一个地缘政治竞争对手。外界之前预计他访印时会与印度总理莫迪(Narendra Modi)会面，并公布特斯拉进军印度的计划。 6park.com
Musk traveled to China a week after he postponed a trip to India, another of China’s geopolitical rivals, where he was expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and unveil plans for Tesla’s entry to the country. 6park.com
 
投资者认为此番中国行取得了成功，这推动特斯拉股价周一上涨16%。来自中国政府的新认可能否帮助扭转特斯拉在中国的下滑势头仍有待观察。特斯拉一直依赖两款较旧的大众市场电动车型，尽管最近出了一个焕新版，并且Cybertruck已开始交付。Cybertruck尚未在中国上市。 6park.com
Investors saw the China trip as a success, sending Tesla’s shares up 16% Monday. Whether the latest blessing from Beijing will reverse Tesla’s sliding fortunes in the country remains to be seen. Tesla is stuck with two aging mass-market EV models despite a recent refresh and the introduction of the Cybertruck, which hasn’t yet been released in China. 6park.com
  
不过，汽车顾问Russo说，对这家美国汽车制造商而言，来自一位中国高官的背书可能会刺激新销售。 6park.com
Still, the endorsement from a top Chinese official could spur new sales for the U.S. carmaker, said Russo, the auto consultant.