’Handing over some control...’:What Elon Musk advised as resolve for China-Taiwan tension

Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Mush has said that the tension between China and Taiwan could be resolved by handing over some control of the island to Beijing. This comes days after he proposed a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In an interview with Financial Times, Musk said, "My recommendation . . . would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won't make everyone happy"

It is to be noted that Musk's electric car company Tesla operates a rather large factory in Shanghai, China.

Invoking the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests that rocked the city and special administrative region of China, Musk commented, "And it's possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that's more lenient than Hong Kong".

Tension between Taiwan and China is an ongoing issues, wherein Taiwan's government strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's 23 million people can decide its future. Meanwhile, Beijing, who claims that Taiwan is their democratically ruled provinces, has also vowed to include Taiwan back into the Chinese territory.

China has offered Taiwan a "one country, two systems" model of autonomy similar to what Hong Kong has, but that has been rejected by all mainstream political parties in Taiwan and has no public support, especially after Beijing imposed a tough National Security Law in the city in 2020.

Reuters quoted a Taiwanese official familiar with the security planning of the region saying "Musk needs to find a clear-headed political adviser". The Taiwan's foreign minister, however, refused to comment.

"The world has seen clearly what happened to Hong Kong," the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. "Hong Kong's economic and social vibrancy abruptly ended under Beijing's totalitarian rule, " the official told Reuters.

The Tesla's factory in Shanghai accounts for about half of their global deliveries, as understood from the last year's data made available. Musk said China has sought assurances that he would not offer the Starlink internet service of his SpaceX rocket company there.

Musk said he reckoned that conflict over Taiwan was inevitable and warned of its potential impact on not only Tesla, but also on iPhone maker Apple Inc and the wider economy. The interview did not elaborate on those remarks.

Musk's deal for Russia-Ukraine

Earlier this week, Musk proposed that Ukraine permanently cede Crimea to Russia, that new referendums be held under UN auspices to determine the fate of Russian-controlled territory, and that Ukraine agree to neutrality.

He asked Twitter users to weigh in on his plan, drawing sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who proposed his own Twitter poll, "Which @elonmusk do you like more? One who supports Ukraine (or) one who supports Russia."

(With input from Reuters)