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Elon Musk said that the conflict between China and Taiwan is hard to stop but recommended the island become a "special administration zone" similar to Hong Kong.

Taiwan has considered itself for decades an independent country, but China still insists Taiwan is a part of China and hopes to restore control. 

"My recommendation . . . would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won't make everyone happy," Musk told the Financial Times in an interview published Friday. "And it's possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that's more lenient than Hong Kong."

Hong Kong is a special administrative zone that manages its own politics, although China has cracked down on the country in recent years by passing a national security law that punishes citizens for dissent against Beijing.

Musk, who has a big business in China, noted that Tesla's Shanghai factory would be caught in the middle of any conflict between the country and Taiwan.

In the same interview, Musk said China was upset after he sent SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service to Ukraine to aid the country during its conflict with Russia.