Reuters: Elon Musk Just Bought A “Chinese Headache”

Reuters reports:

Twitter’s servers, staff and customers are almost entirely out of President Xi Jinping’s reach. But Tesla produces half of its automobiles in Shanghai, where it enjoys tax breaks, and depends on local suppliers for critical components.

It seems likely that Twitter, under its new owner, will relax bans on political speech. Former President Donald Trump may get his account back. Beijing will push Musk to ease up on its propaganda army too, but the pressure is unlikely to stop there. Communist officials do not share Musk’s free speech values and they know how to squeeze.

If Beijing has Musk over for tea to talk about “fake news” spread by overseas dissidents, and he doesn’t take the hint, his Chinese operations may suddenly find themselves in regulatory hot water. If he cooperates, on the other hand, the U.S. Congress will call him in next.

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From Breakingviews – Elon Musk buys Tesla a pounding Chinese headache https://t.co/G0oDMsKFFl

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 26, 2022