Important Takeaways:

• A year ago, Tesla held the No. 1 ranking in China’s new-energy vehicle retail segment. In the first quarter of this year, the company had fallen to third place…. It is not clear that Tesla can compete in China, where the regime does just about everything it can to favor Chinese competitors.
• Musk has made Tesla reliant on China, and China’s rulers know that.
• “What is there to stop them [Chinese officials] from going to Musk directly and saying, ‘We’ll call your line of credit early, unless you give us X, Y, or Z?'” — Congressional Republican aide, Washington Examiner, August 26, 2020.
• “Musk should expect China to make demands for technology and data transfers to include Starlink and SpaceX heavy-lift rockets.” — Blaine Holt, retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier general and technology entrepreneur, to Gatestone Institute, May 3, 2024.
• “Will Congress now look the other way while the often-used CCP playbook of corporate blackmail plays out, compromising our security?” — Blaine Holt to Gatestone Institute, May 3, 2024.
• “You have me, and I have you.” — Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Elon Musk, CNN, April 28, 2024.
• The words, ostensibly meant to show U.S.-China friendship, are in reality a warning. It is now clear that one person so beholden to China should not be so central to America’s effort to stay in space.

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