Elon Musk's APEC cancellation was so abrupt that stand-in John Kerry had 'no idea' why he pulled out; SpaceX founder is shown greeting Xi Jinping on Chinese state TV after backtracking on antisemitic post

SpaceX founder Elon Musk's withdrawal from an APEC event on Artificial Intelligence was so abrupt that his stand-in John Kerry wasn't even told the reason for the cancellation.

Musk pulled out of a planned on-stage 'armchair conversation' slated for Thursday on the emerging topic despite visiting an event at the San Francisco gathering with Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday.

Kerry told DailyMail.com he didn't know why Musk had to suddenly withdrawal.

'I have no idea' why he couldn't attend, the former secretary of state said outside the Moscone Center, where President Biden was hosting world leaders Thursday. 

'Mark just asked me' to participate, Kerry said of SalesForce CEO Marc Benioff.

Musk was in San Francisco Wednesday and attended an event where CEOs including Apple's Tim Cook and Executive Vice President of Boeing Stanley Deal rubbed elbows with XI.

The world's richest man was seen shaking hands with Xi on Chinese state TV hours after President Biden said he still considers Xi to be a dictator.

He did not leave APEC empty handed. Xi told him he supports Tesla's development in China, according to a statement on the firm's Weibo account. 

APEC said Musk's name was removed from the 4:45 pm event due to a scheduling issue that prevented him from attending in person. He offered to give the speech online, but the APEC declined. 

APEC's meeting is a high-profile summit of 21 countries, expected to bring as many as 30,000 people to the Bay Area this week, including China's President Xi Jinping.

APEC CEO Summit 2023 said in a statement: 'The session, “A Summit Spotlight 1:1 Conversation on AI and the Future,” will now feature Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce, in conversation with John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. 

'Elon Musk had a schedule change that prevented him from joining the APEC CEO Summit 2023. 

'We’re thankful for his offer to join the session remotely, however it was agreed among all speakers that participation would be in person. 

'We look forward to Elon joining us at a future APEC CEO Summit.'

Joe Biden hosted a $40,000-per-seat gala last night in San Francisco with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the 'guest of honor.'

Among the top leaders at the dinner surrounding the APEC meeting with Xi were Apple's Tim Cook and Executive Vice President of Boeing Stanley Deal.

Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk also made an appearance ahead of the gala for cocktail hour drinks where he rubbed elbows with the Chinese dictator amid rising tensions with the West. 

He departed before dinner began, according to multiple reports. 

Musk was not on the list of corporate attendees and representatives at the gala, according to a program of the event obtained by DailyMail.com.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff also greeted Xi during cocktail hour but didn't stay for dinner.

Also not on the program but in attendance for Wednesday night's pricey dinner were executives from Pfizer, Nike and FedEx. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown also paid the premium to attend.

The soiree was held at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, California, with a price tag of $40,000 per seat.

On Wednesday, Elon Musk backtracked on his earlier endorsement of an antisemitic post, clarifying that calls for 'a Jewish genocide' were 'unacceptable to any reasonable person.'

But he then resumed his long-running series of attacks on the antisemitism watchdog ADL.

Musk was accused on Wednesday afternoon of promoting antisemitism after replying to a racist post with the comment: 'You have said the actual truth.'

He then, two hours later, wrote: ''decolonization' necessarily implies a Jewish genocide. Thus it is unacceptable to any reasonable person.'

Musk, who has been strongly criticized by the Anti-Defamation League and Israel's Foreign Ministry for his past remarks, then attacked the ADL, accusing them of racism.

'And, at the risk of being repetitive, I am deeply offended by ADL's messaging and any other groups who push de facto anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind,' he said.

'I'm sick of it. Stop now.'

Musk sparked the firestorm on Wednesday by responding to a man who posted a screed on X criticizing a Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism campaign video.

In the video, a father is seen talking to his son about the online hatred the son has spewed, and calling him out for his rhetoric.

The X user dismissed the video, writing: 'Jewish communties (sic) have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them. 

'I'm deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest s*** now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don't exactly like them too much. 

'You want truth said to your face, there it is.'

Musk, who has 163 million followers, replied: 'You have said the actual truth.'