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.

    • MrSpArkle@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Yeah, I think people underestimating Musk is extremely dangerous.

      Everyone underestimated Trump too and gave him 24/7 coverage because of how “stupid” he was.

      Assume a powerful enemy is intelligent, or you’ll not understand how they got their power and will be perplexed as to how they grow it and how they will abuse it.

      • vanontom@geddit.social
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        1 year ago

        When relentless coverage of terrible people, and their insane words/actions, results in said people winning fair elections, I think the intelligence of the electorate might be the biggest problem.

        But yes, that’s beside the point, as is their growing mental illnesses and instability. The wealth/power they’ve been allowed to accumulate will always make them a danger/threat that should be taken seriously.