TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday (May 16) said Beijing's rhetoric about annexing Taiwan should be taken seriously.
In an interview with CNBC, anchor David Faber asked Musk if he was concerned about the "growing belligerence" between Washington and Beijing. Musk responded by saying, "I think that should be a concern for everyone."
When asked if he believes China will try to seize Taiwan by force, Musk said Beijing's official policy is that "Taiwan should be integrated." He added, "One does not need to read between the lines, one can simply read the lines."
"I think there is a certain inevitability to the situation," Musk added. Faber responded by saying that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be bad for Tesla's bottom line as well as other companies across the globe.
Musk agreed and likened the interdependence between the Chinese economy and the rest of the world to "conjoined twins." He said that decoupling from China "would be like trying to separate conjoined twins."
He said many other Western companies are more exposed to the China market than Tesla. As an example, he said Apple manufactures the vast majority of its products, including the iPhone in China.
Faber pointed out that if China seized Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s (TSMC) facilities in Taiwan, Tesla, and other companies would be adversely affected. Musk nodded his head and said "correct."
The anchor asked whether Tesla sources its chips from TSMC and Musk said his firm is supplied by both Samsung and TSMC. Faber noted that Musk appears to believe that China will seize Taiwan.
Musk replied by saying, “That is their policy, and I think you should take their word seriously."
In an Oct. 7, 2022 interview with the Financial Times, Musk said conflict over Taiwan is inevitable and the global economy would probably take a 30% hit. “My recommendation … would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable,” Musk was quoted as saying.
“Probably won’t make everyone happy. And it’s possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that’s more lenient than Hong Kong.” Referred to as Ma Si-ke (馬斯克) in Taiwan’s traditional Chinese, Musk was roundly criticized by Taiwanese netizens, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on his statements.