A fleeting moment between Elon Musk and Lei Jun has exploded into one of China’s most talked-about viral clips, drawing more than 20 million views.

The selfie, taken ahead of a state banquet in Beijing, captured Musk raising his eyebrows and exhaling as Lei leaned in, a reaction that quickly became the story itself.

The image, shared a lot across Chinese social platforms, sort of turned into a cultural talking point. Some users zeroed in on Musk’s face, saying his expression looked dismissive or even amused, while others made light jokes that Lei, a long-time admirer and early Tesla owner, had been “humbled” right in front of his idol, kind of in public too.

This moment basically shows Musk’s strange position in China, where people admire him as a tech visionary but also criticise Tesla for how it handles customer complaints, and that mix is pretty common online.

The viral selfie happened while Musk was in Beijing, as part of a US business delegation accompanying Donald Trump for talks with Xi Jinping. Other executives joined in as well, including leaders from Apple and Nvidia, which hints at how high the stakes are for US companies trying to move through China’s regulatory and economic landscape.

Musk said he “hoped to accomplish many good things” in China, which signals he’ll keep engaging, even with tensions growing in the background.

While Tesla remains influential, its dominance is under pressure from local competitors closing the gap on price and technology. China accounted for roughly a fifth of Tesla’s revenue last year, with over 626,000 vehicles sold, yet domestic brands are rapidly scaling innovation.