Trump’s State Dinner Makes Strange Bedfellows of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and GM’s Mary Barra

Coming into Wednesday’s trading, Tesla stock was down 16% this year. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• Chinese President Xi is visiting U.S. President Donald Trump, with cars expected to be on the agenda.
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk and General Motors CEO Mary Barra are scheduled to attend a White House dinner with the two leaders on Thursday.
• Musk and Barra are likely to support continued tariffs on Chinese imports as overcapacity in China has led to weak profits.

Chinese President Xi is coming to America to visit U.S. President Donald Trump. Cars will be on the agenda.

The two men will dine at the White House on Thursday evening with many U.S. business leaders in attendance, including General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to Reuters. GM and Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the dinner.

That almost guarantees discussions about the global car business. The U.S. is stable, with General Motors, Ford Motor , and Tesla generating stable profits. The Chinese business is not. Overcapacity has led to weak profits, with Chinese auto makers looking to export markets to soak up excess production.

Investors are a little nervous that China would like to export cars to America. Recently, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin suggested that Trump would allow Chinese cars to be sold in the U.S. That would shift China’s capacity problems to the U.S.

Musk and Barra are likely to support continued tariffs on Chinese imports.

They would also like to see the Chinese industry restructure. Tesla’s largest, most productive plant is located in China, and the country accounts for roughly 20% of total sales. GM has significant business in China, too. The business has posted losses recently. GM recognized a $316 million equity loss from Chinese operations in 2025. That was an improvement from a 2024 loss of $4.4 billion.

Both stocks were quiet ahead of the dinner. Tesla shares were up 0.2% in premarket trading Wednesday at $379.78, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat. GM stock was up 0.2% at $83.63.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@barrons.com.

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8