Why Did Elon Musk Open A Tesla Dealership In Xinjiang?

Elon Musk has inserted himself into the controversy regarding human rights abuses in China by opening a Tesla Inc TSLA dealership in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region that is the central point of the Chinese government’s persecution of its Uyghur minority.

What Happened: The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla announced the opening of the dealership in a Dec. 31 post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

“On the last day of 2021, we meet in Xinjiang,” the Weibo posting said. “In 2022, let us together launch Xinjiang on its electric journey!”

The posting included photographs of the opening ceremony for the dealership, which featured performers in traditional Chinese lion costumes and people with placards stating “Tesla (heart) Xinjiang.”

According to the Tesmanian website, the new dealership is Tesla’s 211th in China. Tesla also has seven Supercharger stations in Xinjiang, including two in Urumqi.

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Why It Matters: Human rights advocates have produced video evidence and testimony from Xinjiang detailing the Chinese government’s campaign against the Uyghurs and members of other Turkic Muslim minority groups. The government has set up internment camps in the region and human rights groups have accused China of subjecting the camps’ prisoners to slave labor and severe birth control measures.

The Chinese government has reacted furiously to any Western company that has sought to raise the issue of human rights in Xinjiang, with state-run media denouncing these corporations and Chinese individuals reacting as a bloc on social media to affirm the government’s anger.

Walmart Inc WMT is the most recent company to acknowledge the situation in Xinjiang by removing products made in the region from its stores last month, which provoked a Chinese government agency to accuse the retailer of “stupidity and short-sightedness” while threatening that its actions “will surely have its own bad consequences,”

Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a law banning most imports from Xinjiang, citing the use of forced labor in the region’s manufacturing facilities. The Biden administration has also sanctioned several companies and individuals that are accused of aiding the Chinese campaign against its Uyghur population, though it is uncertain if Tesla will be sanctioned over its new dealership.

Musk made no mention of the Xinjiang dealership on his Twitter Inc TWTR page, nor has he ever tweeted about the country’s treatment of the Uyghurs. Musk does have a history of flattering China’s leadership — last July, he marked the centennial of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party by declaring, “The economic prosperity that China has achieved is truly amazing, especially in infrastructure!”

Photo: Blomst / Pixabay