Chinese web users blast Musk over space station near-misses

“How ironic that Chinese people buy Tesla, contributing large sums of money so Musk can launch Starlink, and then he [nearly] crashes into China’s space station,” one user commented.

SpaceX’s Starlink is a constellation of more than 1,700 satellites that aims to provide internet access to most of the Earth.

“Prepare to boycott Tesla,” said another, echoing a common response in China to foreign brands perceived to be acting contrary to Beijing’s national interests.

Some speculated that Washington would have imposed sanctions if the roles were reversed.

“Why don’t we just do what they do?” one wrote.

California-based SpaceX has not responded to a request for comment.

Evasive manoeuvres are becoming more frequent as more objects crowd into near-Earth orbit and force course adjustments to reduce the risk of crashes, said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

“We’ve really noticed the increase in the number of close passes since Starlink started getting deployed,” he told AFP, adding that any collision would likely “completely demolish” the space station and kill everyone on board.

Although Musk is widely admired in China, the reputation of Tesla, which sells tens of thousands of vehicles in the country each month, has faltered this year following a spate of crashes, scandals and data storage concerns.

But Tesla is still hugely popular, selling around one out of every four of its cars in China, and has built a rare wholly-owned factory in Shanghai.

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