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| Tesla posted pictures of the opening ceremony online, where people were shown holding 'Tesla Loves Xinjiang' signs. (Photo by=TESLA/WEIBO) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] Electric car maker Tesla has been criticised in the US after opening a showroom in China's controversial Xinjiang region. BBC said that the company, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, opened a showroom in Urumqi city on New Year's Eve.
Some in China welcomed the move. China has been accused of slavery and genocide against the Uyghur minority group in the resource-rich western region of the country. Meanwhile, Republican senator Marco Rubio, who sponsored a bill signed into law by President Joe Biden in December that requires firms to prove that goods imported from Xinjiang were not produced with forced labour, spoke out about Tesla's decision. Tesla didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from the BBC.
However, the opening of the new Tesla showroom was widely welcomed by users of China's Twitter-like Weibo social media platform. One user posted: "Thank you for expanding in Xinjiang, happy new year!". Another said: "You see, Tesla supports the development and construction of Xinjiang, unlike some companies." Late last year, US microchip giant Intel apologised after a backlash over a letter it sent urging suppliers not to source products or labour from Xinjiang.
