Elon Musk’s model mother sees celebrity take-off in China

BEIJING – Even as Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk is set to become a more controversial figure in China as part of Donald Trump’s administration, his mother is still a clear-cut favourite in the country.

In November, Mrs Maye Musk was at 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 apparel brand JNBY in Hangzhou and was at an event in the financial capital Shanghai for Fila, the sportswear brand owned by China’s Anta Sports Products. 

Since early 2023, she has been a regular visitor to the country for speaking engagements and modelling jobs, starring in advertisements promoting consumer electronics firm Oppo’s popular Find X6 Pro smartphone, and partnering with handbag brand Oleada on a limited collection.

The popularity of the silver-haired 76-year-old is surging on Chinese social media, too, with numerous posts on 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 especially popular with female readers.

Chinese see her as a symbol of strong parenting and wisdom, and her bond with her son adds a tech-savviness to her image that aligns with promoting brands like Oppo, said Ms Olivia Plotnick, founder of Wai Social, a social media marketing agency in Shanghai.

“Maye Musk embodies the ideals of ‘graceful ageing’ and empowerment. Her career as a model and dietitian in her 70s challenges traditional perceptions of ageing,” Ms Plotnick said.

“This resonates strongly with China’s growing middle-class women, who see her as a source of inspiration.” 

Mrs Musk is not just a not-so-secret weapon for Chinese brands looking to draw customers. She could also become a source of soft power for her son in a country where he has invested billions of dollars – a relationship that could be shaken by his starring role in Trump’s White House, with the President-elect already threatening tariffs of as much as 60 per cent on Chinese goods. 

China is a crucial market for Tesla and where it makes around half of its electric vehicles.

Mr Musk has himself

made numerous visits to the mainland

, where he is usually received by senior Chinese leaders.

However, Tesla faces not just political uncertainties but also competition from local rivals like BYD, whose record performance has already triggered protectionist tariffs in the US and EU. 

Tesla’s Shanghai factory deliveries dropped in October, a potential blow to its guidance of delivering a record number of cars in 2024, even as competitors like BYD and Geely Automotive Holdings posted unprecedented domestic sales.

Chinese President Xi Jinping used his final meeting with outgoing US President Joe Biden to emphasise that a conflict between the two countries was not inevitable.

Since

Trump’s election win

earlier in November, some comments on Mrs Musk’s Xiaohongshu account have focused on her son’s ties to the incoming US president, for whom he will serve as co-head of the new Department of Government Efficiency. 

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

Mrs Musk was a fashion fixture long before her emergence on China’s social scene.

Beginning her modelling career as a teenager in South Africa, she has since joined her son at the Met Gala in New York and graced the covers of Vogue and – in her 70s – Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition. 

Outside China, she has amassed more than a million followers each on Instagram and X, the social media platform that is owned by her son.

Before walking the runway for Chinese fashion label Juzui in New York in February, Mrs Musk said she had been visiting China almost every month. 

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