Local media reported that this week Tesla engineering teams visited five leading solar cell manufacturers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, two days after CEO Elon Musk outlined plans to build a 20-gigawatt photovoltaic fabrication facility in the U.S. During the factory tours, Tesla personnel toured production lines for N-type monocrystalline wafers and bifacial modules, assessing capital equipment compatibility, throughput rates of 2,000 wafers per hour, and cell conversion efficiencies approaching 24 percent. The site visits sparked a surge in share volumes for listed solar equipment providers in Shanghai and Shenzhen, with average daily turnover tripling from the previous week.

With SpaceX’s private valuation now reported at $1.25 trillion following its merger with xAI, the market capitalization gap between SpaceX and Tesla has narrowed dramatically. Tesla, which has been Musk’s primary source of liquid wealth, now sits just above SpaceX’s paper value by roughly a quarter. Tesla’s own market capitalization has slipped by more than five percent this year, reflecting a 16 percent year-over-year drop in vehicle deliveries in January and a first-ever annual revenue decline of three percent in the prior fiscal year. Musk’s shifting focus toward Robotaxi services and humanoid robotics suggests Tesla investors may see more cross-company collaborations—and potentially further dilution—if Tesla commits additional capital to the newly combined venture.

Last week Tesla announced it will cease production of its flagship sedan and SUV lines, which accounted for under three percent of deliveries last year, to repurpose those assembly lines for its Optimus humanoid robot and Robotaxi prototype. The move follows a strategic review triggered by intensifying competition from Chinese and European electric-vehicle makers and the expiration of federal green-vehicle tax credits. By converting high-automation Model S and Model X tooling in Fremont, Tesla aims to increase robotics output tenfold by mid-2027 and accelerate autonomous ride-hail service rollouts in major U.S. cities this year.