Elon Musk was filmed snapping photos on his phone during Donald Trump's formal welcome ceremony in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Thursday, as the Tesla CEO joined the US delegation for the US President's high‑stakes meeting with Xi Jinping.
Trump arrived in China on Wednesday evening for a multi‑day state visit framed by both sides as a chance to reset a fraught relationship, from trade disputes to tensions over Taiwan and the flow of chemicals used to make fentanyl.
The visit has already drawn scrutiny, not just for the politics on the table, but for who Trump chose to bring with him.Melania Trump stayed home, while Trump travelled alongside a mix of administration officials, family members and powerful business figures, including Musk andNvidia boss Jensen Huang.
On Thursday morning local time, Musk stood in the Great Hall of the People alongside senior US figures, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, waiting for the opening ceremony that would precede Trump's talks with Xi.
As Chinese hosts prepared the formalities, cameras captured Musk lifting his phone and quietly taking pictures of the cavernous marble hall.
Elon Musk at the Great Hall of the People: snapping photos, wide-eyed, shuffling forward in the group photo queue like a tourist .pic.twitter.com/HYXoMcssPJ
The images and clips quickly spread online. One user described the billionaire as a 'tourist,' posting, 'A man with more wealth than most countries, travelling as part of the presidential entourage, and photographing the Great Hall of the People like a tourist.' Another asked why 'a dozen billionaires' appeared to be operating as extensions of the US government.
'They look like a gaggle of lost souls,' a third commenter wrote, folding Musk into a wider unease about the cast surrounding Trump on this trip. The phrase stuck: Musk, the world‑famous tech mogul and self‑styled statesman, was reduced in a few seconds of video to a curious visitor pointing his phone at the scenery.
Elon Musk broke the formation and pulled out his phone to record the reception ceremony hosted by President XI JINPING for President DONALD TRUMP, while the U.S. delegation stood in line watching.pic.twitter.com/NdPgrF6Tr4
The irony is hard to miss. Musk has spent years cultivating his role as a partner, and sometimes supplicant, to Beijing, with Tesla's Shanghai factory a pillar of his global manufacturing strategy.
Source: International Business Times UK
