- According to geopolitical analyst Ian Bremmer, as published by Vice News, but the head of Tesla has denied this.

The message that Putin has told Elon Musk in a private conversation that terrifies the West about the war in Ukraine

The message that Putin has told Elon Musk in a private conversation that terrifies the West about the war in Ukraine

The richest man in the world and head of Tesla, Elon Musk, would have had a private conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he would have told him that he would use nuclear weapons to defend the annexed regions of Ukraine.

According to Vice News, Musk would have told geopolitical analyst and head of the Eurasia Group consultancy, Ian Bremmer, that Putin was determined to win his war in Ukraine "no matter what" in private talks a few weeks ago in an attempt to mediate peaceful tycoon. This is how Bremmer picked it up in his newsletter for subscribers.

In that conversation, Putin reportedly told Musk that he was "prepared to negotiate" a peace deal with Ukraine on the condition that Crimea is recognized as part of Russia.

However, Elon Musk has denied that he spoke with Vladimir Putin about the potential use of nuclear weapons, before presenting a peace plan that suggested that Ukraine cede territory to Russia.

According to Bremmer, who also reported on this matter in a tweet, Musk would have told him what the Kremlin's red lines were.

elon musk told me he had spoken with putin and the kremlin directly about ukraine. he also told me what the kremlin’s red lines were.

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) October 11, 2022

"I have been writing my weekly newsletter on geopolitics for 24 years. I write honestly without fear or favoritism and this week's update was no different," he added in a second message.

"I have long admired Musk as a unique world-changing entrepreneur and have said so publicly. He is not an expert on geopolitics," Bremmer concluded.

Asked on Twitter if the Vice News story was true, Musk himself replied that it was not, adding that he had only spoken to Putin once and that conversation took place 18 months ago. The topic they talked about, he assured, was space and not the war in Ukraine. 

Hi @elonmusk Is this true?https://t.co/C4tLJ1HtPy

— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) October 11, 2022

Controversial survey

On October 3, Musk sparked global outrage by tweeting a similar proposal, suggesting that Crimea was quintessentially Russian and that sham referendums in four other occupied Ukrainian provinces should be held under UN supervision.

Musk presented his followers with a survey on a possible peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia based on four principles: "Repeat elections in the annexed regions under the supervision of the UN. Russia leaves if that is the will of the people; Crimea is formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev's error); water supply to Crimea secured, and Ukraine remains neutral." According to Musk, that will most likely be the end result of the war, and the question will be how many people die before that happens.