Tesla chief stressed that mutual suspicions of espionage undermine fruitful cooperation
China and the United States must strengthen mutual trust as the economic development and prosperity of companies in the two countries depends on it. The head of US electric car maker Tesla, Elon Musk, said on Saturday.
“I think the United States and China would benefit if they trusted each other more”, – he said during a plenary discussion at the China Development Forum 2021 in Beijing. The American entrepreneur answered questions from the audience via videoconference.
He stressed that mutual suspicions of espionage undermined fruitful cooperation. Musk admitted that the US authorities’ distrust of some Chinese companies, such as ByteDance, which owns the social network TikTok, “was unreasonable”.
“[The issue of trust] is particularly relevant to commercial organisations, both Chinese and US companies”, – he added.
According to Musk, spying has the potential to undermine the company’s image. “If Tesla went for it, its businesses would shut down everywhere,” he explained.
“At the end of the day, we have a choice to make: whether to trust each other or the other way round. I think we’d better strive for a future where mutual trust is fostered,” the head of the company summed up.