Benzinga | Sep 17, 2021 05:59AM EDT

Elon Musk Says He Has 'Great Deal Of Respect' For Chinese Automakers, Praises Country For Attitude Toward EVs

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk was all praises for the competitiveness in the Chinese auto market on Friday at an online forum being held in Hainan, Bloomberg News reported.

What Happened: Musk talked about China's automakers and touched upon data security and the country's "great potential" as a market for electric vehicles in a pre-recorded video that lasted less than three minutes.

The video was played at the World New Energy Vehicle Congress, which is being held in the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

See Also: Amid Tesla Data Controversy, China Government Develops Machines To Track Data Sent Abroad By Cars

"I have a great deal of respect for the many Chinese automakers," Musk said, as noted by Bloomberg, adding that the public sentiment and support for electric vehicles is at a "never seen inflection point because they know it is the future."

Why It Matters: China is a key global market for Tesla. Musk's company faces tough competition from homegrown companies like Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO), BYD Co (OTC:BYDDF), Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) and Xpeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV).Tesla has invested heavily in China, including building a gigafactory, which it says has been established as an export hub.

Musk had praised China earlier in the year as well as his company faced customer ire and subsequent media and regulatory scrutiny in China earlier this year.

Price Action: Tesla stock closed 0.15% higher at $756.99 a share on Thursday.

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Photo: By Heisenberg Media on Wikimedia