Elon Musk denies record that he talked to Putin just lately about Ukraine conflict

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 02: Elon Musk attends The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating “In The usa: An Anthology of Model” at The Metropolitan Museum of Artwork on Might 02, 2022 in New York Town. (Photograph by means of Theo Wargo/WireImage)

Theo Wargo | Wireimage | Getty Pictures

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is denying a record by means of Eurasia Workforce founder and political scientist Ian Bremmer which claimed Musk mentioned he just lately spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about, “the minimal the Russian president will require to finish the conflict.”

Bremmer’s be aware went out previous this week to shoppers. Investor Sven Henrich requested Musk (by way of his Twitter account “@northmantrader”) if the record was once true. Musk answered in a tweet, “No, it’s not. I’ve spoken to Putin handiest as soon as and that was once about 18 months in the past. The subject material was once area.”

CNBC reached out to Eurasia Workforce and SpaceX however neither had been instantly to be had to remark.

As CNBC in the past reported, Musk posted a chain of tweets previous this month in quest of fortify for what he concept will be the very best end result for Russia’s conflict on Ukraine.

Musk proposed UN-supervised votes in Ukraine about whether or not positive areas of the country underneath siege will have to sign up for Russia. He additionally mentioned Ukraine will have to hand Crimea over to Russia, and that the country will have to then stay “impartial” moderately than aligning with both NATO or Russia.

Since the ones tweets on October 3, Musk has endured to advertise the theory, on Twitter, that some Ukraine voters would in fact favor and vote to sign up for Russia.

Kremlin officers praised Musk for his opinion, however the SpaceX and Tesla CEO drew sharp complaint from many others together with Ukraine President Zelenskyy, South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham and Russia-born human rights activist and previous chess champion Garry Kasparov.

Kasparov, who sought to dam Putin’s upward thrust to energy and was once jailed and overwhelmed for his activism earlier than fleeing the rustic, described Musk’s plan as a “repetition of Kremlin propaganda.” And “F— off is my very diplomatic respond to you,” Ukraine’s outgoing ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, wrote in line with Musk’s tweets.

Musk had in the past earned hero standing in Ukraine as a result of his corporate, SpaceX, enabled its Starlink satellite tv for pc web provider to stay portions of the rustic on-line in early days and during the war.

Publicly opining on conflict may end up dangerous for Musk and SpaceX, cautions J2 Ventures founder and Managing Spouse Alex Harstrick. Earlier than beginning the fund, Harstrick was once an intelligence officer in the USA Military deploying to each Afghanistan and Iraq with Particular Operations.

Harstrick advised CNBC’s Squawk Field, “Any corporate that sells in a vital solution to the USA of The usa, and in particular the Division of Protection, has to recognize that its CEO has a accountability to make certain that what they’re speaking about in any public disclosure is in step with the values of the USA.”

SpaceX has notched federal contracts price greater than $10.5 billion since 2003 in step with information tracked by means of Govwin by means of Deltek considered by means of CNBC. If the leaders of a protection contractor are noticed as interfering with diplomatic efforts by means of the USA, govt businesses is also hesitant to paintings with them when choices are to be had, he prompt.

Musk has additionally just lately sounded off, in an interview with Monetary Instances, about his imaginative and prescient for resolving China’s war with Taiwan. Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to the U.S., thanked Musk for the theory in a tweet.