On Friday (Oct. 7), the Financial Times published an interview with Musk when he recommended Taiwan become absorbed into China as a special administrative zone that is "reasonably palatable."
The tech tycoon then speculated that while it "won't make everyone happy," the terms of Beijing's rule over Taiwan could be "more lenient than Hong Kong.".
On Tuesday (Oct. 11), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that Musk, "truly does not understand Taiwan nor cross-strait relations."
By Wednesday (Oct. 12), Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said the military would not buy more Tesla vehicles after his comments on converting Taiwan into a special administrative zone.
"Provided that China's sovereignty, security and development interests are guaranteed, after reunification Taiwan will enjoy a high degree of autonomy as a special administrative region," Mao said.
The announcement indicates the two models will soon enter the China market again after a long hiatus.
Taiwanese politicians and citizens alike said they believed Musk's pro-China comments reflected his business interests, with 30-50% of Tesla’s production coming from his Shanghai factory. »