Jakarta, ThedailyID — A barbecue restaurant in Shaanxi Province, northwestern China, has become an unexpected tourist attraction after its chef went viral for his striking resemblance to billionaire Elon Musk.
The buzz began after a video showed chef Ma Jianping grilling skewers at his restaurant in Tongchuan. The clip, uploaded on July 26, received more than 800,000 likes within two days and quickly spread across Chinese social media.
Internet users nicknamed Ma the “Elon Musk of Shaanxi.” Some even joked that his restaurant should rename itself “SpaceX Barbecue,” after Musk’s aerospace company.
Ma has worked as a barbecue chef for more than a decade. He said people had pointed out the resemblance before. However, he admitted the sudden online attention left him feeling overwhelmed.
“I feel a little embarrassed and nervous,” Ma told the South China Morning Post.
The viral fame transformed his business. Customer numbers have doubled, and many visitors now stop by to meet him, take photos, and shake his hand.
One customer, surnamed Bai, said he had only seen AI-generated videos of “Musk” grilling meat before visiting the restaurant.
“This is the first time I’ve met ‘Musk’ in real life, and I’m very happy,” Bai said. He also praised Ma for keeping menu prices unchanged despite the surge in popularity.
More than a dozen people have approached Ma with business opportunities since the video went viral. However, he said he has no interest in becoming a livestreamer and prefers running his restaurant. He works from early morning until after midnight every day.
According to VN Express, a restaurant investor surnamed Li said regular customers had noticed Ma’s resemblance to Musk long before he became an internet sensation. Social media simply amplified the attention.
Online users also joked about another coincidence. Since Musk’s Chinese transliteration includes the surname Ma, some commented that the pair even shared the same family name.
