Elon Musk praises Xi Jinping as great leader ahead of Washington summit with Donald Trump

State television interview and praise for Xi

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk commended Chinese President Xi Jinping during an interview broadcast on Wednesday by China's state television network CCTV. Musk described the Chinese leader as an extraordinary and forward-looking figure whose governance delivered tangible improvements across the country. He pointed specifically to visible urban development, modern architecture, and transportation infrastructure as direct evidence of rising standards of living. Musk noted that increased prosperity was readily apparent to anyone walking the streets of Chinese cities.

“Under his leadership, China has achieved enormous development progress.”

The televised remarks preceded a diplomatic meeting in Washington between Xi and US President Donald Trump, marking their second bilateral summit of 2026. While Xi traveled to the United States for the bilateral discussions, he opted not to attend the United Nations gathering in New York. Musk is scheduled to attend a formal White House state dinner hosted by Trump on Thursday evening alongside other American corporate executives.

Factory output and manufacturing in Shanghai

Musk also spoke about Tesla's manufacturing operations in China, describing the Shanghai Gigafactory as a jewel and praising the local workforce for high production standards. The Shanghai facility serves as the carmaker's primary global export hub. According to data released by CCTV, the plant delivered approximately 468,000 vehicles during the first half of 2026, representing a 28.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

Growth at the plant slowed later in the summer, with combined Model 3 and Model Y deliveries rising 3.6% year-on-year in August 2026. The deceleration reflected divergent consumer demand patterns across the automaker's primary global markets. Musk previously rejected public suggestions that Tesla might separate its Chinese business entities ahead of a potential corporate merger with SpaceX.

Political realignment and White House ties

The public compliments from Musk represent an evolution in his political activity following a period of direct involvement in US governance. Musk provided $200 million in campaign funding to support Donald Trump's 2024 presidential election bid and subsequently took charge of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, serving as the administration's financial enforcer. In an interview given in July 2026, Musk acknowledged that he had become excessively absorbed in domestic politics and had let himself get carried away during that alliance.

“The Tesla factory in Shanghai is a gem and it is actually beautiful, if anyone has ever been there.”

Forecasts for humanoid robotics and artificial intelligence

During the CCTV broadcast, Musk outlined extended commercial projections for automated systems and humanoid robotics over the coming decades. He predicted that the global population of humanoid robots would reach at least one billion units within 10 years, expanding to 10 billion in 15 years and 100 billion within 20 years. Musk stated that these machines will perform general labor, care for children and the elderly, and serve as private educational tutors. Under this projection, individual human supervisors could manage hundreds or thousands of physical machines and digital software agents simultaneously.

In 10 years1

In 15 years10

In 20 years100

In 10 years

1 billion

In 15 years

10 billion

In 20 years

100 billion

Data from the article text

Musk also addressed the development of artificial intelligence, which is slated for discussion during the security agenda of the Trump-Xi summit. He advised researchers and practitioners to pursue balanced educational backgrounds across the arts, humanities, engineering, and physical sciences, arguing that broad domain knowledge enables users to construct more effective analytical queries.