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Elon Musk performs 'cringe' dance on stage in China to celebrate Tesla milestone

Tesla boss has been on a charm offensive in China in recent months

Anthony Cuthbertson
Tuesday 07 January 2020 15:51 GMT
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Elon Musk dances on stage in Chinese charm offensive

Elon Musk celebrated the first deliveries of Chinese-made Tesla cars by performing an unusual dance on stage in front of government officials and employees in Shanghai.

The Tesla boss was attending a ceremony at the factory to mark the first China-made Model 3 electric cars rolling off the production line.

A video clip of the dance, which includes a Walk Like an Egyptian move, was shared by the 48-year-old billionaire on Twitter with the caption: "At Tesla Giga Shanghai NSFW!!"

Online reaction to the impromptu dance performance was mixed, ranging from "this is quite good", to "cringe".

It is Tesla's first manufacturing plant outside of the US and is aimed at capturing a portion of the world's largest car market.

The Shanghai plant will also allow Tesla to bypass trade tariffs imposed between the US and China amid an escalating trade war.

Last month, Tesla received more than 10 billion yuan in financing from Chinese banks in order to fund its Shanghai factory.

Around 1,000 Model 3 cars per week are initially expected to be assembled at the Shanghai factory, though its opening comes at a time when electric vehicle sales in the country are falling.

In November, sales of electric vehicles fell by 42 per cent year-on-year in China after the government lifted customer incentives.

In previous visits to China, Mr Musk has spoken at artificial conferences and met with government officials, as well as impressed social media users in the country by eating at an inexpensive Beijing restaurant and staying at the relatively modest Holiday Inn hotel.

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