Tesla co-founder previously suggested Taiwan should become a ‘special administrative zone’ in China

Elon Musk, the owner of X/Twitter, was called out on his platform by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs after calling the island nation an “integral part of China” and insisting that he understands “China well.”

Mr Musk made the comments on the “All In” podcast while answering a question about China and the future of his involvement with the nation.

During the interview, Mr Musk said “I think I understand China well,” and notes that he’s been there several times and has met with high-ranking officials.

He then turns his attention to Taiwan, and compares its relationship to China to Hawaii’s relationship to the US, insisting it is "an integral part of China that is arbitrarily not part of China”.

That comparison is flawed in two major ways: first, Hawaii is not a contested region, but is unquestionably a US state with all the same powers and freedoms granted any other US state; second, Taiwan’s assertion that it is its own state is not arbitrary, but instead a position it has held for decades.

  • Flying SquidM
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    171 year ago

    I’m just wondering why the U.S. DoJ isn’t doing anything about it.

    • The Quuuuuill
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      361 year ago

      Same reason the IRS spends all their time auditing poor people who made mistakes instead of auditing one billionaire for year. The metrics they’re graded on aren’t based on quality, they’re based on quantity. Going after a billionaire is expensive, and sure, it would have lasting positive impact, but they’re graded on number of cases closed

      • Flying SquidM
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        111 year ago

        Sure, but poor people aren’t having influence over tense geopolitical situations.

        • The Quuuuuill
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          141 year ago

          Exactly my point. We could spend 1 year auditing / investigating 1-2 billionaires and have way more government funding and way less foreign interference, but we don’t because the system is working as intended