Jack Ma was ‘disgraced’, young Chinese turned to idol Elon Musk

In China, the technology giants were once seen as the engine of economic growth for the country. But now, with accusations related to stealing user information, exploiting labor and crushing innovation, the image of these companies has deteriorated a lot.

Jack Ma – the co-founder of e-commerce company Alibaba is a typical “idol of collapse” as his companies are under scrutiny by the government over allegations of power in the background. 2nd largest economy in the world.

However, there is a figure in the tech world that is attracting Chinese youth, who has the ability to “throw the bomb” divine and a “brave captain” on a journey to break down all technological barriers: Elon Musk!

“Elon Musk is ready to fight to escape dominance and become the richest man in the world. He’s our hope,” said Jane Zhang, founder and CEO of ShellPay, a company. blockchain in Shanghai said.

Whether it’s hope, curiosity, idol, or jealousy, Elon Musk is also a hot topic in China. The fact that Tesla is one of the best-selling cars in China and the government’s growing ambitions to conquer the space have created a growing community of SpaceX fans.

Social media platforms and articles are always flooded with videos and posts that analyze whether the billionaire born in South Africa is a genius or a scammer, and exploit all information. from his studies to his hobby of eating hot pot in Beijing. Startups die with Elon Musk’s “first principle” mindset – seek a solution by examining problems at their most fundamental level. A series of books by Chinese authors promise to reveal the secret of “Iron Man in Silicon Valley”.

In a long thread about Musk on Q&A website Zhihu, a user named Moonshake wrote: “Most people begin to be hopeful but gradually accept” mediocrity “as the destiny of Only superhumans like Musk can overcome the infinite mediocrity and head towards the infinite, to see the magnificence of the universe.

Another user on the same thread said he named his son Elon to show his admiration for Musk.

Tesla’s giant factory near Shanghai begins production in 2019 which has helped boost the company’s production capacity. When Tesla’s stock price hit a new high in January, making Musk the richest man on the planet, Chinese fans were even more crazy about Musk.

Later that month, when Musk contributed to the rise in GameStop’s stock, many in China were drawn to a similar lack of trust in major financial institutions.

The frustration of many tech workers in China is increasing because they feel the field is no longer innovating or inventing something new. While Musk is in the process of building the cars of the future and conquering the universe, they see the best minds of their generation designing mobile games, looking to bring more more advertising on social networks and real estate speculation.

“China doesn’t have Silicon Valley crazy guys anymore,” Yan said.

Musk idols are everywhere. But in China, his popularity has also been helped by the government.

Elon Musk praised the cleverness of Chinese officials he met when he was preparing to open a factory in Shanghai. Tesla was the first foreign automaker to be allowed to run its factory without the need for a local partner.

Frustration with Big Tech is growing in China. For many young people, decades of dizzying economic growth only seem to lead to more intense competition for opportunity, less stability and less direction in their lives.

In addition to criticizing the tech industry’s high-pressure work culture and the labor abuse of the contract economy, young Chinese are more skeptical of the vast influence that internet platforms like Alibaba is using it for commerce and finance. However, Professor Biao Xiang – Director of Max Planck Institute (Germany) believes that the Chinese people are not turning their backs on technological advances. That’s why Elon Musk creates charisma.

China has no shortage of outspoken tech tycoons like Musk. It’s just that their careers never seem to go far.

Justin Sun, an entrepreneur in the crypto industry, paid $ 4.6 million to dine with Warren Buffett but later apologized for “over-advertising”. Or Jia Yueting, who once vowed to take the throne of Apple offering the best smartphone line is currently in debt. Even Alibaba’s Jack Ma saw the unbelievable mistake of criticizing Chinese banks and government regulations that he said was ignorant of the internet at a Shanghai conference. That angered the Chinese government, and Ma almost disappeared over the next three months.

However, Musk’s joking style in all matters creates excitement. He is said to be solving major problems for human civilization such as sustainable energy and new alien settlements.

“Young Chinese consider Jack Ma and Pony Ma, the head of giant Tencent ‘more like rich people and successful entrepreneurs’ than visionaries like Musk,” said Flex Yang, co-founder of Babel Finance, a Hong Kong-based service provider, said.

People like Jack Ma and Ponny Ma are simply “the right person, the right time,” Mr. Yan said.

Jack Ma and Musk stood on the stage at a tech conference in Shanghai in 2019. Perhaps there hasn’t been a more engaging pair of speakers. Jack Ma is very serious and freely participates as a conference moderator. Musk was a bit worried and joked again. The two talked a lot together. As a result of super-smart machines, Jack Ma says, people get better educated. Regarding this, Musk just laughed.

In a video featuring awkward moments during the event that appeared on video site Bilibili, critical comments were directed at Jack Ma.

One wrote: “This is a man who was once revered as a god in China. In the presence of a real master, he looks like a monkey performing.”

Alibaba declined to comment.