Musk said in January that solar power could meet all of the electricity needs of the United States - including the ever-increasing demand from a growing number of data centres. Job postings on the Tesla website said it aims to deploy 100 GW of "solar manufacturing from raw materials on American soil before the end of 2028". Some of the estimated 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) worth of equipment, including screen-printing production lines, will require export approval from Chinese regulators, according to the people. US gigaplant with Chinese equipmentAn order from Tesla would mark a big boost for Chinese producers of solar manufacturing equipment, which have struggled with weak demand because of a domestic production glut. Musk briefly worked for the Trump administration running the Department of Government Efficiency, which oversaw mass layoffs of federal workers to save money.

Source: The Telegraph March 20, 2026 08:03 UTC