Tesla under fire in US for plans in China

A receptionist works in a Tesla showroom in Beijing, this Tuesday, January 4, 2022. AP - Ng Han Guan

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The American electric car maker must have a car dealership in the Xinjiang region.

The Beijing authorities are accused of persecuting the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, inhabitants of this region in the north-west of the country.

The violation of the rights of these populations is one of the main points of tension between Western governments and Beijing.

Advertising

Read more

Tesla's announcement fell on December 31, via its official account on the Chinese social network Weibo, and went off like a bomb.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, says Tesla is supporting a

Uyghur

“

”.

The largest American organization defending the rights of Muslims advises Elon Musk, founder of the Californian group, to close his concession in Xinjiang.

Similar criticisms are voiced by many professional organizations, including the Alliance for American Production.

Its chairman, Scott Paul, says Tesla's actions are particularly despicable.

For the Republican senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, they go against the restrictions signed by the American president.

Last week, Joe Biden enacted a law against imports from Xinjiang.

Still, China is one of Tesla's largest markets, which opened a factory there in Shanghai in 2019. Seven of its Supercharger stations are in Xinjiang, including two in Urumqi, the capital.

►Read also: Towards the end of subsidies for the purchase of an electric car in China

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• United States

• China

• Automotive

• Energies

• Uyghurs

• Human rights