Known for his tweets with more or less disastrous consequences for the holders of crypto-currencies, the earthy Elon Musk has discovered a recent passion for geopolitics.
Not content with having alienated Ukraine after issuing his own recommendations on the ongoing conflict with Russia, the founder of SpaceX is doing it again with… Taiwan!
No, Musk did not take a master’s degree in International Relations, and it shows
The qualities of Elon Musk as a businessman are well established, but in terms of communication, that’s another story. The years pass, and nothing or almost nothing changes as the CEO of Tesla does not seem to measure the extent of his statements. Already decried by a large section of the Ukrainian population for his positions concerning the resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Elon Musk has just given his opinion on the situation of Taiwan in FinancialTimes.
While relations between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are among the most complex in the world, the latter considering Taiwan as one of its 23 provinces, the renewed tension experienced between the two parties in 2022 has not no need for Musk’s paw.
In fact, Elon Musk said on October 7, 2022 that “ [sa] recommendation would be to resolve the situation by creating a special administrative zone for Taiwan, which would be reasonably suitable, but which probably would not make everyone agree “. The billionaire went on to add that he is “ possible, and probable, that the two parties will find a more tolerant arrangement than Hong Kong “.
Who will manage to cut Elon Musk’s (cyber) whistle?
Many geopolitical, ideological or even political differences oppose Taiwan and the PRC, and if Musk cannot ignore them, putting his two cents in order to favor Tesla’s interests seems more than inappropriate. It must be said that the Shanghai Gigafactory produced half of new Tesla vehicles in 2021. A conflict between the PRC and Taiwan would thus jeopardize Tesla’s productivity.
Nevertheless, and not surprisingly, many hostile reactions have come from Taiwan and other corners of the globe. A rare reaction (logically) welcoming Musk’s remarks, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, added that “ peaceful reunification and [l’application d’une politique, ndlr] “one country, two systems” are our basic principles to resolve the Taiwan issue…and the best approach to achieve national reunification “.
For her part, the ambassador de facto from Taiwan in the United States notably replied, on Musk’s favorite social network, Twitter, that “ Taiwan sells many products, but our freedom and our democracy are not for sale “. And you, do you think that Elon Musk should stop taking public positions on geopolitical issues?
Source : The Guardian
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