American billionaire and inventor Elon Musk proposed to make Taiwan a special administrative region of China, following the example of Hong Kong.
He said this in an interview with the Financial Times.
"My recommendation... is to set up a special administrative zone for Taiwan, which would be nice enough but probably wonʼt make everyone happy... I think they could probably get a softer deal than Hong Kong." Musk said.
Asked about China and the risks to Teslaʼs factory in Shanghai, which produces 30 to 50 percent of Teslaʼs total output, Musk said the conflict over Taiwan was inevitable. He added that he would not be the only one to suffer the consequences.
"Tesla will be involved in any conflict, Apple will face very big problems, thatʼs for sure," he added.
Musk admired China and invested in this country. But, according to him, Beijing made it clear that it does not approve of the implementation of the Starlink satellite communication system in Ukraine. Musk also said that Chinese authorities sought assurances that Starlink would not be sold in China.
- On October 2, Elon Musk published a series of tweets on his Twitter with assumptions about the "most likely" end of Russiaʼs war against Ukraine. He offered users to vote for the following: hold a repeat vote in the regions annexed by Russia under the supervision of the UN; Russia is leaving if the will of the people is for it; Crimea is formally part of Russia, as it was since 1783 (before Khrushchevʼs "mistake"); water supply to Crimea is guaranteed; Ukraine remains neutral.
- Later, Elon Musk posted another "vote" on Twitter. He asked users whether residents of the occupied Crimea and Donbas should decide in which country they should live — in Ukraine or in Russia. Many outraged Ukrainians came to Musk in the comments. In response, President Zelensky asked which Elon Musk everyone likes more — the one who supports Ukraine or the one who supports Russia. In the comments, Musk himself came to him and noted that he supports Ukraine but worries about the consequences of the war for the world.
- Serhiy Prytulaʼs charity fund collected 2.3 million hryvnias in less than a day — the money will go to walkie-talkies and a history textbook for Elon Musk.