Chinese asset managers are funneling tens of millions of dollars into Elon Musk’s private companies like SpaceX, Neuralink and xAI, using special purpose vehicles to shield investor identities, according to financiers involved in the deals.
The Financial Times reports that wealthy Chinese investors are quietly pumping money into ventures controlled by tech mogul Elon Musk, taking advantage of opaque investment structures to avoid scrutiny during a period of heightened U.S.-China tensions. According to asset managers and investors involved in the transactions, Chinese-backed firms have sold over $30 million worth of shares in Musk’s private companies SpaceX, Neuralink and xAI to Chinese clients in the past two years alone.
The investments are being made through special purpose vehicles (SPVs) registered in offshore jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands. This allows the identity of the Chinese investors to remain concealed and sidestep the concerns of U.S. authorities wary of Chinese capital flows. While there is nothing illegal about using SPVs, the lack of transparency raises questions about potential conflicts of interest given Musk’s growing influence over U.S. government policy in his advisory role to President Donald Trump.
Musk, who enjoys good relations with Beijing, has found it difficult to accept direct Chinese investment into his sensitive technology companies due to opposition from U.S. national security officials. The workaround using SPVs provides Chinese investors exposure to Musk’s ventures, though they receive little information on the underlying businesses compared to primary investors.
The full extent of Chinese capital inflows is hard to determine given the opacity of the investment structures. But the money represents a small fraction of the over $10 billion SpaceX alone has raised since 2002, according to data provider PitchBook. Asset managers say the Chinese are primarily motivated by the potential investment returns from Musk’s ventures rather than seeking any technology transfer or policy sway.
Still, the revelations come at a time when the U.S. government is taking an increasingly tough line against Chinese tech investments over espionage and national security concerns. The Treasury Department announced last week it would stop enforcing a key transparency rule on the beneficial owners of U.S. companies. This could make it even easier for foreign investors to discretely back sensitive technology firms.
Read more at the Financial Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
