Maye Musk Backs Elon's 'China Is Awesome' Take: Here's Why She Enjoys Going There
by
Ananya Gairola
August 12, 2026 9:12 PM
Maye Musk has once again made her fondness for China clear, jumping in to support her son
Elon Musk after he
encouraged his followers to visit the country.
Maye Musk Backs Elon Musk’s China Praise
On Tuesday,
Tesla Inc. and
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted on social media that "China is awesome" and said he "strongly" encouraged people to visit.
Musk was responding to an episode of The Brainstorm, an ARK Invest podcast featuring Sam Korus, Brett Winton and Nick Grous that discussed whether Tesla’s business ties to China could complicate a potential
Tesla-SpaceX combination.
Maye Musk reposted her son’s message with her own glowing review.
"I agree," she wrote, highlighting each Chinese city’s "unique charm" and cultural attractions. She also praised the country’s infrastructure, saying its buildings and streets are "clean and well maintained."
"People are polite, hard-working, and respectful," Maye wrote, adding, "I feel safe, so enjoy going to China."
Maye Musk Has Been a China Fan For Years
This is hardly Maye Musk’s first China endorsement.
In 2023, she posted about wrapping up a two-week trip that took her through cities including Guangzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu, Suzhou, Huzhou, Wuhan and Shanghai.
In 2024, after she shared photos from Shanghai’s Yuyuan Garden, Elon Musk commented, "More people should travel to China."
In a February 2024
interview with WWD, Maye said, "I love working with Chinese people," adding that she visited China nearly every month and traveled to 12 cities there the previous year for speaking engagements and modeling work.
Later that year, she called China "highly advanced" in highways, tunnels, buildings, infrastructure and ports, prompting Elon to reply, "True."
During the same time, she praised the country’s highways, tunnels, buildings, infrastructure and ports, saying China was "highly advanced" in those areas.
At 78, Maye Musk has
become a major "silver influencer" in China, building a following of more than 577,000 on
Xiaohongshu.
Her appeal extends beyond social media, with partnerships with major Chinese brands and appearances at high-profile fashion events. Her memoir, “A Woman Makes a Plan,” has also found a receptive audience in China and she previously described the book as a bestseller there.
China’s Global Image Is Improving
The Musk family’s latest praise comes as international views of China have been improving.
A 2026 Pew Research Center survey found that a median 51% of adults across 37 countries had a favorable view of China, compared with 39% who viewed it unfavorably.
Pew also found that China is now viewed more positively than the U.S. in most of the 36 countries included in its comparison.