Elon Musk wraps up whirlwind China tour

SHANGHAI, June 1[ads1] (Reuters) – Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) Chief Executive Elon Musk left Shanghai on Thursday morning, ending a two-day trip to China where he met with government ministers, a key battery supplier and visited the carmaker’s biggest manufacturing hub.

Photos from Musk’s visit to Tesla’s Shanghai factory late Wednesday showed him holding up a “Giga Shanghai” sign, flanked by hundreds of employees, including global manufacturing chief Tom Zhu.

“A very rewarding day!”, Grace Tao, Tesla’s China-based head of public affairs, said in a social media post with the photos.

Earlier in the trip, Musk met China’s foreign, trade and industry ministers in Beijing where he also had dinner with the chairman of battery supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd ( CATL ) ( 300750.SZ ).

Since arriving in China on Tuesday morning, the American billionaire has been showered with praise from the Chinese public, but Musk himself has been uncharacteristically silent and has yet to make any public statements.

Little is known about the talks he had with the Chinese authorities so far.

The Industry Ministry said only that Musk and its leader exchanged views on the development of electric vehicles and connected cars; the Department of Commerce announced that he discussed Tesla’s development in China with the minister.

The American billionaire’s private jet took off from Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport at 11:23 local time for Austin, Texas, where Tesla’s global headquarters are located, according to flight tracking platform Variflight.

Reporting by Brenda Goh, Zhang Yan and Nicoco Chan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

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