As we noted earlier today, Musk's public about-face on bitcoin due to its "environmental impact" over the last 24 hours has baffled many people, including almost all bitcoin enthusiasts who praised Musk earlier this year for accepting the cryptocurrency as payment for Tesla vehicles. 

We have been documenting what has appeared to be an ongoing spat between Tesla and the Chinese Communist Party over the last month, apparently (at least publicly) catalyzed by a protestor at the Shanghai Auto Show alleging faulty breaks on Tesla vehicles. This led to intense shaming by Chinese media, who called Tesla's handling of the situation a "blunder" and suggested it could "inflict serious damage" on Tesla with the Chinese market.