What is clear is that the remarkable honeymoon Elon Musk enjoyed in the world’s most populous nation is over. After receiving red-carpet treatment from government officials, who granted Tesla the unprecedented concession of allowing it to wholly control its local subsidiary, the carmaker is now being forced to rethink its strategy, from customer service to public relations, in a market that’s key to Musk’s long-term ambitions. None of these problems, of course, are unfamiliar to most foreign businesses in China, where a crash in consumer perceptions is often just one social-media storm away.
