Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter and SpaceX, is a prolific tweeter. The billionaire has habitually used Twitter to communicate with the public, frequently tweeting about his work and personal life. However, on Thursday evening, it was noticed that he had not posted anything for over 48 hours, leading many to speculate about his health.
It turns out it was not Musk’s choice to stay away from Twitter; he was visiting a country where the platform is banned. In China, Twitter and other social media apps are blocked by the Great Firewall. However, users can still access Twitter in China via a virtual private network or VPN. Musk has not tweeted since his private jet landed in Beijing on Tuesday morning, likely because he did not want to risk violating Chinese law by circumventing the firewall and tweeting from within the country.
However, Musk has continued tweeting altogether; he is still posting on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. On Wednesday night, he shared that the EV maker’s Shanghai factory had opened its doors and was working to build more plants. He also praised the Chinese government’s role in modernization and said that Tesla was committed to expanding its presence in the country.
The Chinese government has a public record of blocking free speech on the Internet, and many fear that this is why the country has blocked Twitter. But for Musk, the largest shareholder in the company he runs, to be unable to use the app during his visit shows that the country’s attempts to control free speech and information flow are working.
Musk is one of several prominent US CEOs to make an unannounced trip to China since the country reversed its zero-COVID policy. Apple’s Tim Cook visited last month, and JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon is scheduled to fly to the country this week. The Tesla founder is expected to meet with employees at the company’s plant in Shanghai.
Musk met with Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, according to state-run news agency Xinhua, during his first day in the country. He also spoke with Jin Zhuanglong, the industry and information technology minister. In a statement by Xinhua, the pair discussed the interconnectedness of China and the United States. In addition, Xinhua reported that Musk told the ministers that Tesla was “against the idea of decoupling” from China. This was a theme that Musk would return to in his meeting with the staff at the Shanghai plant on Wednesday evening. He emphasized that the future of EVs and other forms of transportation is shifting toward Asia’s biggest economy. The billionaire also reiterated that he is against a boycott of the country.
