Even as Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk is poised to become a more controversial figure in China within Donald Trump’s administration, his mother remains a clear favorite in the country.

This month, Maye Musk attended the Shanghai store opening of Chinese mattress brand AISE Baobao, for which she is a global brand ambassador. Earlier in 2024, she walked the runway for local clothing brand JNBY in Hangzhou and participated in an event in the financial capital Shanghai for Fila, the sportswear brand owned by Chinese company Anta Sports Products Ltd.

Since early 2023, she has regularly visited the country for speaking engagements and modeling jobs, starring in commercials promoting consumer electronics company Oppo’s popular Find X6 Pro smartphone, and partnering with the handbag brand Oleada hand on a limited collection. The silver-haired 76-year-old’s popularity is also growing on Chinese social media, with numerous posts on the Instagram-like platform Xiaohongshu, where she has some 576,000 followers, generating hundreds of comments and thousands of likes.

Her popularity in China took off in 2020, when her memoir A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success was published in Chinese and became particularly popular with female readers. The Chinese see her as a symbol of strong parenting and wisdom, and her bond with her son adds to her image a mastery of technology that fits with the promotion of brands like Oppo, said Olivia Plotnick, founder of Wai Social, a social media marketing agency in Shanghai. .

“Maye Musk embodies the ideals of ‘gentle aging’ and empowerment. Her career as a model and dietitian in her seventies challenges traditional perceptions of aging,” Plotnick said. “This resonates strongly with growing middle-class Chinese women who see her as an inspiration. »

It’s not just a not-so-secret weapon for Chinese brands looking to attract customers. Maye Musk could also become a source of soft power for his son in a country where he has invested billions of dollars – a relationship that could be shaken by his leading role in Donald Trump’s White House, with the president-elect already threatening to impose customs tariffs of as much as 60% on Chinese products.

China is a crucial market for Tesla, where it makes about half of its electric vehicles. Elon Musk himself has made numerous visits to the continent, where he is usually received by senior Chinese leaders. However, Tesla faces not only political uncertainties but also competition from local rivals like BYD Co., whose record performance has already triggered protectionist tariffs in the U.S. and EU.

Deliveries from Tesla’s Shanghai factory fell in October, a potential hit to its forecast to deliver a record number of cars in 2024, even as rivals like BYD and Geely Automotive Holdings Ltd. recorded unprecedented domestic sales. Chinese leader Xi Jinping used his latest meeting with outgoing US President Joe Biden to stress that conflict between the two countries was not inevitable.

Since Trump’s election victory earlier this month, some comments on Maye Musk’s Xiaohongshu account have focused on her son’s ties to the new US president, for whom he will serve as co-director of the new Department of Government Effectiveness .

“As long as Elon Musk doesn’t forget how the Chinese helped him build a gigantic factory and doesn’t let Trump do stupid things, the Chinese will be happy to give you a platform,” one person wrote.

Maye Musk was a fashion staple long before she appeared on the Chinese social scene. Having started her modeling career as a teenager in South Africa, she has since joined her son at the Met Gala in New York and appeared on the cover of Vogue and, at the age of seventy, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

Outside the continent, she has amassed over a million followers each on Instagram and X, the social media platform owned by her son. Although both services are blocked on the continent, she still posts about her travels during her visits, with occasional observations about the number of Tesla vehicles she’s spotted on the country’s roads.

Before showing for Chinese fashion brand Juzui in New York in February, Maye Musk said she visits China almost every month.

“When I go to China, everyone is happy and friendly and fun,” she told Women’s Wear Daily. “Even with my friends here, they all want to visit China now.”

With help from Daniela Wei.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modification to the text.