Musk Denies Selling Tesla China Business, Calling Reports Purely Fake News

TradingKey - On July 30, Eastern Time, Tesla ( TSLA ) CEO Elon Musk posted on social media platform X, denying rumors about Tesla selling its China business. Tesla China officials also clearly responded to multiple media outlets, calling the sale of its China operations "untrue news." Replying to a related post, Musk stated clearly: "This has not even been raised for discussion. This is completely absurd fake news." [Source: X] This denial is directly related to recent market speculation. According to previous media reports, Musk had considered pushing Tesla and SpaceX ( SPCX ) to deepen cooperation, and potentially adjusting the structure of its China operations based on geopolitical factors, with advisory teams discussing various options including spin-offs, sales, or even closures. Industry insiders speculate that as a U.S. defense contractor, SpaceX controls Starlink and a large number of sensitive contracts, while Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory accounts for more than half of its global capacity. If the two companies were to merge, Chinese assets would become the biggest minefield for regulatory scrutiny. Therefore, divesting the China business first would be equivalent to removing the biggest obstacle on the path to a merger. However, Musk's denial deprives this logical chain of its core premise. It is worth noting that Tesla's Shanghai factory has an annual production capacity of over 950,000 vehicles, accounting for about half of its global deliveries, but has recently faced pressure from intensifying competition in the Chinese market. Local brands such as BYD, Nio, and Xpeng continue to gain momentum, and the market landscape is rapidly evolving. Following the rumors about Tesla selling its China operations, market expectations for a merger between Tesla and SpaceX quickly heated up, pushing Tesla's overnight stock price up by over 4% at one point, breaking through $321. However, after Musk stepped forward to deny it, the overnight premium quickly faded, and the stock price pulled back from its highs, giving back the gains triggered by the rumors. [Source: TradingView]