China has moved to put the know-how behind modern solar factories under export control, and the list reads like an inventory of what Tesla has been trying to buy for its planned Texas solar plants. In Announcement No. 48 of 2026, published on 16 October, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the Ministry of Science and Technology propose adding 12 photovoltaic technologies to China's catalogue of technologies whose export is prohibited or restricted. The 12 cover polysilicon, wafer and cell manufacturing, and the announcement says the scope "also includes the key and core equipment" that carries them.
What Beijing is proposing
The solar items are part of a draft covering 40 technologies, alongside 23 in artificial intelligence and five in biomedicine. Public comments are open until 15 November. pv magazine, which read the draft list, sorts the solar items as follows:
| Proposed status | Solar technologies, as summarised by pv magazine |
|---|---|
| Export prohibited | Perovskite and perovskite-silicon tandem cells and modules above set size and efficiency thresholds; fluidized-bed polysilicon processes; wafers 70 µm thick or thinner |
| Export restricted, licence needed | Polysilicon plants with lines of 30,000 tonnes a year or more; advanced crystal-pulling and wafer-cutting processes; high-performance TOPCon, back-contact and heterojunction (HJT) cell processes |
One part already applies. Since 16 October, Chinese exporters must register with MOFCOM before exporting any listed technology, including deals that have started but are not finished. Registration covers transfers of ownership, licences for use abroad and a technology owner coming under foreign control. A MOFCOM spokesperson said that exports of listed key and core solar equipment must all be registered. The spokesperson added that exports of these technologies often come with the export, installation and commissioning of whole production lines, and that exporters doing this must apply for a technology export licence. Finished cells and modules are not covered, and the ministry says the revision targets no country, region or company.
Why it lands on Tesla
Elon Musk set a target at Davos in January of 100 GW a year of US solar manufacturing, and the equipment for it has largely been sought in China. Reuters reported in April that Tesla wanted to buy $2.9 billion of solar manufacturing equipment from Chinese suppliers such as Suzhou Maxwell Technologies, which was seeking export approval from the commerce ministry, and that Beijing's talks with equipment makers centred on HJT. On 21 May, The New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources, that China had blocked Maxwell's high-end equipment from going to Tesla.
The $10.1 billion Project Crystal Sun plant in Fort Bend County lists ingot and wafer lines, and $8.6 billion of its budget is for equipment. A patent complaint filed in Texas in September cites an order for crystal pullers from China's Zhejiang Jingsheng for a 10 GW line in Texas, which pv magazine links to Crystal Sun; the complaint does not name the buyer. Crystal pulling and HJT both appear on the restricted list.
What the draft does not settle is whether the machines Tesla ordered meet the control thresholds, which are set out in an annex to the announcement. Restricted means a licence, not a ban, so China can still approve individual shipments. Every listed export now needs a registration, though, and once the catalogue is revised, each one needs a licence. Tesla has not commented.
What it means in Europe
Nothing changes for European Powerwall or Megapack buyers. The list covers solar manufacturing, not batteries or finished panels, and Tesla's European energy business sells Powerwall and Megapack, not panels. The wider point is that Tesla's plan to make its own panels in the US, starting in Brookshire, depends on a supplier country that now decides who gets its best equipment. Tesla's third-quarter results call on 21 October is the next chance for Musk to say how the solar build-out will be equipped.