Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Taiwan is an “integral part of China.” Musk was speaking remotely at the All-in Summit, which took place in Los Angeles this week. “(Beijing’s) policy has been to sort of reunite Taiwan with China,” the billionaire said, CNN reported.
“From their standpoint, you know, maybe it’s analogous to like Hawaii or something like that, like an integral part of China that is arbitrarily not part of China mostly because … the US Pacific Fleet has stopped any sort of reunification effort by force,” he added.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Musk out on the social media platform X after Musk made the comments. “Listen up, Taiwan is not part of the PRC (and0 certainly not for sale!” Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu wrote on X on Wednesday.
Taiwan is an independently governed democratic island. China has claimed for long that Taiwan is part of its territory. Musk's comparison of Taiwan with Hawaii is flawed as Hawaii has officially been a US state since 1959. Hawaii isn't a contested region either. Taiwan has held the position that it is its own state for decades.
Musk, in his speech, also said that he expects China's military power in Taiwan would soon bring it back under its rule adding that US involvement in the region is the only reason such a takeover hasn't happened yet.
Joseph Wu also said he hoped Musk “can also ask the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) to open X to its people.” Several social media platforms, including X, are blocked in China by authorities. Tesla heavily relies on deliveries from the Shanghai facility