President Trump's Air Force One trip to China included Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and other business leaders. Details of their journey.
Elon Musk and Jensen Huang were among the high-profile figures traveling with President Donald Trump on his Air Force One flight to Beijing. The delegation also included Tim Cook from Apple, Larry Fink from BlackRock, Stephen Schwarzman from Blackstone, Kelly Ortberg from Boeing, Brian Sikes from Cargill, Jane Fraser from Citigroup, Larry Culp from GE Aerospace, and David Solomon from Goldman Sachs.
According to a White House pool report, Musk was on board Air Force One when it departed Joint Base Andrews. Jensen Huang joined the flight during a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska. The Nvidia boss was pictured wearing a backpack and standing on the tarmac, sharing an X post with his presence aboard the presidential aircraft.
The trip to China is significant given Tesla's recent struggles against Chinese electric-vehicle competitors. In 2025, BYD sold more battery-electric vehicles than Tesla for the first time. Musk has been a major donor in the upcoming U.S. election, contributing at least $277 million to support Republican candidates.
Their journey comes amid tensions between Trump and Musk over policy disagreements, particularly regarding China's "Big Beautiful Bill" legislation. Despite these differences, both CEOs were part of a broader delegation that included other influential figures from various industries.
China is an important market for commercial airplanes, making Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg hopeful about potential deals with Chinese airlines. Last month, Airbus signed a $21.4 billion deal with China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines for more than 100 jets. In May, Ortberg accompanied Trump to Qatar where the country's airline agreed to purchase up to 210 Boeing aircraft worth around $96 billion.
In his post on Truth Social, President Trump emphasized that he would ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to "open up" China so that business leaders could work together and help elevate the People's Republic of China.
