Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk spoke personally with Russian President Putin before publishing a series of tweets about his vision of a "resolution plan" for the war in Ukraine.
Vice writes about this with reference to a mailing from political scientist Jan Bremmerʼs company Eurasia Group, which specializes in the study of political risks.
Bremmer writes that Musk told him about Putinʼs ultimatum — the president of the Russian Federation is ready for negotiations, but only if Crimea remains Russian, Ukraine becomes a neutral state and also recognizes the annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Musk said that Putin assured him of achieving this goal at any cost, including the use of nuclear weapons. Such a threat was also sounded in the case of the entry of Ukrainian troops into Crimea. Musk responded by telling Putin that "everything must be done to avoid this."
In addition, Bremmer claims that Musk rejected Ukraineʼs request to activate Starlink satellite communication systems in Crimea.
Musk himself denied the fact of the alleged recent conversation with Pitun about Ukraine. He wrote on Twitter that he spoke with the president of the Russian Federation only once 18 months ago and had a conversation about space.
- On October 2, Elon Musk published a series of tweets on his Twitter with assumptions about the "most likely" end of Russiaʼs war against Ukraine. He gave users two options ("yes" or "no") to vote for the following: to hold a repeat vote in the regions annexed by Russia under the supervision of the UN; Russia is leaving if the will of the people is for it; Crimea is formally part of Russia, as it was since 1783 (before Khrushchevʼs "mistake"); water supply to Crimea is guaranteed; Ukraine remains neutral.
- Later, Elon Musk posted another "vote" on Twitter. He asks users whether residents of the occupied Crimea and Donbas should decide in which country they should live — in Ukraine or in Russia. Many outraged Ukrainians came to Musk in the comments. In response to this, President Zelensky launched a poll on his Twitter: he asked which Elon Musk everyone likes more — the one who supports Ukraine or the one who supports Russia.
- Elon Musk replied to President Zelensky that he still supports Ukraine but is concerned about the impact of the war on the world.
- On October 7, The Financial Times wrote that the Ukrainian military spoke of "critical failures" in the work of Starlink on the frontline. Musk criticized the FT for the story.