Musk: Taiwan conflict 'inevitable', severe consequences for tech ahead

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Financial Times
7 Oct 2022 20:09
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In light of the US's recent moves against China, Musk predicts a gloomy outlook for the US tech industry.

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, attends the opening of the Tesla factory Berlin Brandenburg in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022 (Patrick Pleul/Pool via AP, File)

US billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk told a Financial Times reporter on Friday that conflict over Taiwan is inevitable and that serious consequences are ahead for big tech companies such as Tesla and Apple factories in China.

Musk's Tesla factory based in Shanghai accounts for up to half of Tesla's production. Hence, a conflict with Taiwan will inevitably cause the company to still be able to supply to customers in China, "but not anywhere else," the report says, adding that Apple would certainly face that same kind of challenge.

He also said that Starlink's rollout in Ukraine triggered scrutiny in China. The launch of the satellite was intended to fortify the country’s internet network against Putin’s forces, but Beijing thinks it could pose a strategic threat due to its links with the US and asked Musk not to sell Starlink in China.

Commenting on possible solutions, 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. And it’s possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that’s more lenient than Hong Kong."

Expressing worries over the preservation of life on Earth, Musk said "Something will happen to Earth eventually, it’s just a question of time. Eventually, the sun will expand and destroy all life on Earth, so we do need to move at some point, or at least be a multi-planet species,” he says. “You have to ask the question: do we want to be a space-flying civilization and a multi-planet species or not?"

Last Monday, Musk posted a series of Tweets to suggest different solutions for the Ukraine conflict.

Some of the Tweets outraged Ukrainians - some of which included the status of Donbas and annexing Crimea to Moscow - since Musk admitted that Ukraine's chances for victory were "unlikely."

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky responded with his own Twitter poll: which Elon Musk do you like more, he asked, the one who supports Ukraine or the one who supports Russia?