Elon Musk and Lei Jun Selfie Interaction Goes Viral in China

A short video of an interaction between Elon Musk and Lei Jun has circulated widely on Chinese social media platforms. Musk was in Beijing this week with a delegation of business leaders who traveled with President Trump. On Thursday he attended a banquet at the Great Hall of the People where he sat alone as executives approached him one by one to take photos.

By the time Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, approached and gestured for a selfie, Musk was already grimacing. Musk pulled faces, showed indifference, then posed exaggeratedly for the camera before turning away to look at his phone. The few-second clip spread quickly online.

Musk reposted the video on X, the social media platform he owns. X is banned in China where the government maintains tight control over media.

Viewers offered differing interpretations of the exchange. Some criticized Lei Jun for approaching Musk while others said he appeared obsequious and had lost face. Still others defended his actions. The episode drew more attention on Chinese social media than coverage of the summit between President Trump and Xi Jinping.

Musk has long held popularity as a technology figure in China while Lei Jun ranks among the country's most prominent entrepreneurs. The video emerged even as global focus remained on the Trump-Xi meeting. Chinese online commentators turned the brief encounter into a narrative of business rivalry between the two men.