Musk, who traveled to China alongside Trump and several prominent American business leaders, was seen filming the grand venue on his phone before the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the now-viral clip, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO slowly turns in circles while recording the surroundings, seemingly taking in the scale of the hall ahead of the closely watched meeting.
The contrast between the tense geopolitical backdrop and Musk’s relaxed demeanor quickly caught the internet’s attention.
The one who is enjoying the trip to China is Elon Musk
(I saw the pipe lying there on the other side) pic.twitter.com/34l1El9qdx
— ElBuni (@therealbuni) May 14, 2026
Dressed in a black suit and standing among senior officials and executives, Musk appeared fully absorbed in capturing a panoramic video of the venue, prompting a flood of memes and jokes across social media platforms.
One user joked that intelligence agencies from both countries were likely monitoring sensitive communications while Musk casually filmed the room. Another quipped that the billionaire looked like he was “on a school trip,” while others described the moment as “peak Elon behavior.”
The clip added to a series of viral moments from the Beijing visit. Separate videos circulating online showed Musk interacting with Apple CEO Tim Cook during an event, with users widely sharing footage of Musk making animated facial expressions while guests were being served by Chinese hosts.
The Beijing summit brought together Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and a host of American tech leaders including Musk, Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, among others.
Trump later described the visit as “incredible” and claimed the talks had resulted in “fantastic trade deals” between the two countries. He also said he and Xi Jinping discussed Iran and agreed that Tehran should not possess nuclear weapons.
(Edited by : Tenzin Norzom)
First Published: May 15, 2026 3:26 PM ist
