How China Made Elon Musk’s Celebrity Mom Its ‘Secret Weapon’

Elon Musk is all the rage in Washington these days, but his mom, Maye Musk, is lighting up Beijing—and other cities she visits across China.

The 76-year-old mother of the world’s richest man has been jetting around the People’s Republic of China for years. But this month alone, she has attended a gala dinner in Hangzhou, graced the red carpet at a cosmetics show in Wuhan and signed copies of the Chinese edition of her book, A Woman Makes a Plan, the senior China correspondent for The Guardian writes.

Two weeks ago, she wrote to her fans in China on X, the social media platform owned by her son, “Thank you for making it a bestseller.”

However, Maye Musk’s book isn’t listed on China’s bestseller list. As The Guardian notes, “the only Musk-related book on the Chinese bestseller lists in October was a biography of her son Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson.”

Still, Maye Musk is suddenly a very important asset to China.

She’s seemingly adored by the country she visits “nearly every month”—which, as her billionaire global businessman son wields tremendous power over the U.S. federal government, makes her China’s “secret weapon,” according to The Guardian.

The striking, silver-haired Musk’s fortunes are rising along with her son’s. A former model, dietitian and survivor of domestic abuse who raised three children by herself, Musk became a global ambassador for the Chinese consumer electronics company Oppo last year.

As the representative for the mattress company AISE Baobao, she attended the brand’s store opening in Shanghai last month. She also attends cocktail parties and struts the runways for luxury fashion brands including JNBY, Fila and the Italian brand Moncler in Shanghai, joining Rihanna and A$AP Rocky.

Her son’s auto company, Tesla, sells more cars in China than anywhere except the United States. Tesla also plans to develop its self-driving vehicles in China.

Democrats in Congress accused Musk of pushing a government shutdown the week before Christmas for his own business profitability in China.

“His bottom line depends on staying in China’s good graces,” Rep. Jim McGovern wrote in a series of posts on X.

The conservative Heritage Foundation, which wrote the Trump world blueprint for revamping the federal government, is naturally a big fan of the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk has begun planning well ahead of Jan. 20.

But the Heritage Foundation is no fan of China. In fact, on Christmas Eve, the conservative think tank touted its “tougher, smarter strategy to win the #NewColdWar with China.”

Neither Musk’s Tesla nor SpaceX representatives replied to requests for comment from the Daily Beast.

One thing is certain: Clashes are likely over China policy in the coming months after Donald Trump takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, and both DOGE and Musk’s space rocket and vehicle companies get down to business.