Elon Musk is a famous individual touted as a genius, one of the wealthiest men on Earth, if not the richest. He is also a politically powerful figure and a successful businessman in technology, media, and venture financing. Recently, Elon Musk entered the political limelight after he supported Donald Trump to become the 47th U.S. president. He became President Trump’s close confidant (he stayed with Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, before Trump was inaugurated) and became the executive chair of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). DOGE’s actions in President Trump’s first 50 days in office shocked the American establishment. DOGE’s team has inspected at least 15 U.S. government agencies, including the Treasury, Human Health Services, Education, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Defense (Pentagon), revealed fraud and questionable government spending, stopped government operations, and fired thousands of government employees. This new Trump measure has its positive objectives, but it may have created a shock wave in the government system. The final impact of DOGE’s accomplishment is yet to be determined, but one must give Trump and Musk credit for initiating such a project to improve government efficiency.
In the internet media, such as Facebook, X, etc., there is a lot of circulation of Elon Musk’s video speech on different geopolitical and economic subjects. These presentations appear to be computer-generated (possibly AI-assisted). However, they have been available on YouTube’s channels with no authenticity issue raised by Musk or his representatives. Hence, we can safely assume that these “Musk” video presentations are either endorsed by Musk or in agreement with his personal views. One topic of these Musk videos is the ‘Taiwan’ or ‘Taiwan Unification’ issue. Musk often makes very convincing arguments in his presentations. Musk has remarked that Taiwan should be reunited with China. He also supports a ‘one country two system’ (OCTS) for Taiwan, somewhat like the Hong Kong model. Musk has commented that Mainland China will not use force to unite Taiwan, and Taiwan is a province of China. However, Musk’s remarks drew sharp criticism from the Taiwan government.
In this column, the author shall analyze Elon Musk’s views on Taiwan. Musk is an extremely intelligent and successful businessman and technologist. Let us first understand Musk’s business ventures, then diagnose the rationale behind what and why he gives his ‘Taiwan’ views, and whether they make political sense in the current international situation under the rising tension of the U.S.-China relations.
The success of Elon Musk can be represented by his business holdings. Musk has ownership or significant control of at least six major corporations. A detailed trace of these companies would give clues on what political and economic views Musk holds. The Boring Company is his central (controlling) company, which he has 90% ownership with a small share owned by employees and 6% owned by SpaceX Corporation for offering resources of technology resources.
In 2022, Musk purchased the social media site Twitter (in a deal valued at $44 billion), which was rebranded as X. Under the new company X Corp. He owns 79 percent, which has allowed him to make changes in platform policies and user rules. He recognizes the power of this media platform, especially for presidential elections. Trump was an enthusiastic user of Twitter now X for his presidential campaigns. Musk’s investment in X Corp was a strategic decision in supporting Trump for his second bid for the U.S. presidency.
Elon Musk has a vision of space technology and space exploration. Musk founded SpaceX Corporation, primarily a space-technology company focusing on developing and launching rockets and spacecraft, including the Falcon 9 and Starship series (space exploration and human space travel). SpaceX also operates the Starlink satellite internet constellation (a strategic military and civilian communication system). Elon Musk owns 42 percent of SpaceX’s equity and has 79 percent voting control of the company.
As a visionary in advanced technology, Musk also invested in AI technology by founding and owning 54% of xAI (exploring the true nature of the universe). In 2016, Musk and seven others founded the Neuralink Corporation, whose major business is developing and deploying implantable brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) aimed at enhancing human cognition and creating a direct, high-bandwidth link between humans and digital devices. By 2022, Musk and Dongjin Seo were still in the venture, with Musk being the majority owner.
Elon Musk owns a significant share of Tesla Inc. Tesla is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TSLA. As of 2024, Musk is Tesla’s largest individual shareholder, holding about 13 – 15 percent of the company’s stock. Tesla is heavily invested in China, having an advanced manufacturing facility in Shanghai.
Tesla, Inc.’s major business revolves around designing, developing, manufacturing, and selling electric vehicles (EVs), as well as energy generation and storage systems, including solar panels and batteries. Tesla’s more well-known products are electric vehicles, including sedans (Model 3, Model S), SUVs (Model X, Model Y), and a pickup truck (Cybertruck). Tesla also manufactures and sells electric vehicle powertrain systems and components. Tesla has a global network of stores, service centers, and supercharger stations for charging EVs. Tesla also develops and sells solar panels and solar roofing products for residential and commercial use (SolarCity, founded by Musk’s cousin and acquired by Tesla in 2016) and stationary battery energy storage systems for homes and grid-scale applications. Tesla also provides a self-driving system (Autopilot).
From above, one can see Elon Musk’s ambition in enterprise business with a global and futuristic vision. His investment in China allowed him to learn the Chinese economic model and the Chinese government’s strategies and policies, which made China successful in economic growth. His intimate involvement in U.S. politics and industry development gives him a unique perspective on outlook and the opportunity to influence U.S. government policies affecting industry and advanced technology development. Therefore, his views and remarks on any geopolitical issue or international competition carry a certain weight, especially true on U.S.-China relations and the sensitive Taiwan issue.
Let’s first analyze why Musk supports the unification of Mainland China and Taiwan. Musk is a futurist. He is interested in space exploration and mankind’s future. He does not want to see conflicts and warfare on Earth. He has investments in China, and his enterprises have a dependency on semiconductor chip supply (Taiwan’s TSMC Corporation is a major player). He would rather see TSMC operating safely in Taiwan, the U.S., or China than watch the supply chain being destroyed by warfare. As a person intimately familiar with high-tech manufacturing, he understands better than anyone why China and Taiwan excel in high-tech manufacturing. It is the people’s talent, educational background, cultural upbringing, and work ethic. In Musk’s brilliant mind, it is logical for him to support China’s unification rather than see unnecessary competition for everyone – Taiwan, China, the U.S., and the world’s benefit.
Following the same logic, Musk thinks the OCTS model will work for China and Taiwan (benefiting the world’s prosperity). Being a person born in a colonial country, South Africa, who immigrated to Canada and then to the U.S., he is keenly aware of the different government systems. He observed how Hong Kong was able to thrive under OCTS as an international financial center. In his mind, a similar model will work for Taiwan, making it a high-tech manufacturing center complementary to China’s existing centers. The author believes that Musk’s views and conclusions are based on logical deductions, not driven by any political ideology. Musk supports Trump and focuses on government efficiency is also based on his understanding of the problems existing in the U.S. government system.
In Taiwan, surprisingly, the political parties are using twisted ideology to fool the people mainly to maintain their political power, positions, and interests, rather than for the long-term future of Taiwan people. Hostility to Mainland China, drafting youth for military services, and buying expensive, second-rate military weapons are all futile and wrong policies. The people in Taiwan should carefully ponder Musk’s views on the Taiwan issue for their own good.