Source: CCTV Finance
Elon Musk: If time permits, you must visit China—there’s simply too much worth seeing.
On September 23, Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave an exclusive interview with China Central Television Finance, sharing his latest insights on hot topics such as the Chinese market, artificial intelligence, and humanoid robots.
The success of the Shanghai Gigafactory is due to the Chinese team.
The Shanghai Gigafactory is a key manufacturing hub for Tesla. In the first half of 2026, the factory delivered nearly 468,000 vehicles, a 28.4% year-over-year increase, setting a new high for the same period in the past three years. Since deliveries began at the end of 2019, the factory has produced over 4.5 million vehicles, supplying markets in China, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
When discussing Tesla's operations in China, Musk highly praised the Shanghai Gigafactory. He stated that China possesses exceptional manufacturing expertise. The success of the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory is due to its Chinese team—highly talented, diligent, and dependable, delivering top-quality products with exceptional production efficiency. The Shanghai Gigafactory is a treasure.
Elon Musk envisions the future of humanoid robots: “Could reach 10 billion units in the next 20 years.”
In recent years, Chinese humanoid robotics technology has achieved frequent breakthroughs, drawing global attention. Musk has repeatedly shared images and videos of Chinese humanoid robots on social media.
When discussing humanoid robots, he envisions a future where everyone can have their own personal robot—robots that can care for elderly parents, watch over children, and serve as one-on-one tutors, taking on a variety of tasks. In this future world, a single person could control hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of physical robots and digital agents.
I predict that within 10 years or less, there will be at least one billion humanoid robots; in the next 15 years, perhaps 10 billion; and in 20 years, possibly 100 billion.
Elon Musk again recommends traveling to China: “There’s too much to see in China.”
When the CCTV journalist mentioned that he had previously recommended China travel to people on social media, Musk said, "My descriptions alone cannot capture the charm of China—China is amazing."
Elon Musk once again strongly recommends China to everyone: “If time permits, you must visit China—there’s so much to see. If time is limited, at least go to Shanghai and Beijing.”
"I recommend spending as much time as possible exploring China," he recalled his high-speed train journey from Beijing to Xi'an, Shaanxi. "The experience was fantastic, and the high-speed rail stations are truly impressive." He particularly noted, "When riding the high-speed train, remember to look out the window instead of staring at your phone—there’s so much worth experiencing."
Musk on education in the AI era: “The broader your knowledge, the better you are at asking questions.”
When it comes to education in the age of AI, Musk recommends widely learning across humanities, arts, science, and engineering to build a strong foundational knowledge. “To give instructions to robots, you must learn how to frame questions. The broader your knowledge, the better you become at asking questions.”
After five years, CCTV interviews Musk again
According to public reports, Musk's last interview with CCTV was in March 2021.
At the time, he was attending the China Development Forum 2021. He said that, in the long term, China would become Tesla’s largest market, “We will manufacture the most cars and have the most customers in China.”
Previously, Musk had also accepted two other "sit-down" interviews.
The first time was in April 2014: Musk traveled to Beijing to deliver cars to China’s first customers. CCTV Finance’s talk show invited Musk, in the famous episode where he went head-to-head with Yang Yuanqing on “customer volume”—Musk said Tesla had fewer than 30,000 users at the time, while Yang reported that Lenovo had sold 115 million devices in a single fiscal year.
The second time was in January 2019: on the day the Shanghai Gigafactory broke ground, a CCTV reporter interviewed Musk on-site in Lingang. He called the Shanghai plant the first Gigafactory outside the United States and expressed optimism about China’s open policies.
In addition, in recent years, no Chinese media has sat down for a conversation with Musk.
He recently had a brief glance; in May this year, he accompanied Trump on a visit to China and said to reporters as they walked: “many good things.”
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