Foreign minister Joseph Wu said on Mr Musk’s X, “Taiwan is not part of the PRC [People’s Republic of China] and certainly not for sale!”.

During a business summit this week, Mr Musk compared Taiwan to Hawaii, describing it as an integral part of China.

Over the past year, tensions between Beijing and Taiwan have escalated.

In what has become a routine show of military might around Taiwan, China conducted air and naval drills just this week. More than 40 Chinese military aircraft and about 10 ships were detected in Taiwanese waters, the country said.

It is not the first time Mr Musk, who has business interests in China, has angered Taiwan’s government. By giving China some control over Taiwan, he suggested resolving tensions between Beijing and Taipei.

In an interview with the Financial Times, he said he believed the two governments could reach a “reasonably palatable” agreement. The Chinese ambassador to the US praised Mr Musk, but his Taiwanese counterpart said freedom was “not for sale”. Also on X, Mr Wu posted: “Hope Elon Musk can ask the CCP to open X to its people.” Mr Musk’s microblogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is banned in China.

Wu previously claimed that China’s military drills were intended to influence Taiwan’s January elections.

‘The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has made it clear it wants to shape Taiwan’s upcoming national election. It’s up to our citizens to decide, not the bully next door,’ he wrote on Tuesday.