Elon Musk "must be on drugs to tweet something this reckless."

Diss Respect

Tesla is driving on rocky ground in China, where sales have slumped and its availability is subject to government approval.

So it's head-scratching that Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted an AI video that disrespects Chinese President Xi Jinping on the social media platform X-formerly-Twitter, which should drive other Tesla execs with any shred of common sense into a fit of worry.

With Enya's soothing song "Only Time" playing in the background, the AI video Musk shared shows a parade of world leaders walking down a fashion runway while wearing clothes that at times poke fun at their history or recent news about them. For example, former President Bill Clinton shows up in a blue tulle dress, a reference to the infamous blue garment of his one time paramour Monica Lewinsky.

But for the Chinese leader, the video goes for the jugular. Xi Jinping is dressed in a pants-like robe emblazoned with what looks like Winnie-the-Pooh and the acronym "CCP," standing for the ruling Chinese Communist Party — a serious disparagement in the authoritarian China, where dissidents have for years used the lovable children's character to poke fun at Jinping.

Bull in a China Shop

The taboo against comparing Xi and Pooh is so severe that a horror movie featuring the character was pulled from Hong Kong and Macau movie theaters last year, which critics say was due to censorship from China.

Musk tweeted the video on Sunday, so it may be too soon to tell how China will respond to such disrespect. But others have noticed.

Tesla critic Brad Munchen tweeted about Musk's video and raised the big money implications for Tesla's bottom line.

"Winnie the Pooh memes are banned in China because they're an insult to Xi Jinping who some say looks like Pooh," he posted. "China is where $TSLA built its most profitable factory, which generated 70% of global profits in 2023. One must be on drugs to tweet something this reckless."

And he's right. Tesla's Shanghai factory has supplanted the Fremont, California Tesla factory as the company's largest and most productive facility, according to The New York Times.

We can't begin to explain why would Musk shoot himself in the foot, but this behavior seems par the course for the mercurial billionaire, who often seems drawn to conflict even when it's clearly bad for his own interests.

Is there anybody who can tell Musk the hard truths about his online behavior and how it may impact his businesses? Something tells us there are no such brakes at Tesla.

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