Also read: Likely cause of Covid pandemic is lab leak in Wuhan, China: FBI director According to an update shared by NBC News' Beijing bureau chief, the Chinese newspaper had said that Musk could be “breaking the pot of China" - a sentiment that carries similar meaning to the phrase ‘biting the hand that feeds you’.
An article published Tuesday by the official WeChat account of China’s Global Times also said that “ridiculously, anti-China forces in the United States are again hyping the rumors that the coronavirus originated from a lab leak in Wuhan" - citing Musk's recent posts.
It is pertinent to note here that Tesla enjoys a privileged position in China, owning a factory outright that last year produced almost 711,000 cars.
This incidentally made up 52% of the US electric-vehicle maker’s worldwide output. Any misstep risks entangling the outspoken billionaire in a geopolitical spat that could hurt his business.