Elon Musk's proposals to achieve peace in Ukraine, published on Twitter, did not like either the Ukrainian leadership or the West as a whole, writes Forbes. Musk's views on the conflict have changed since February, now he is not so sure of Kiev's victory.
Derek SaulThe richest man in the world, Elon Musk, was sharply criticized after he shared his thoughts on how to put an end to the Russian special operation in Ukraine on Monday afternoon.
At the same time, Musk has put forward conditions that are much more acceptable to Moscow than the West considers necessary.
Key pointsMusk posted a tweet with four proposals for "peace between Ukraine and Russia": formal recognition of Crimea as Russian territory (Russia illegally annexed it from Ukraine in 2014), ensuring stable water supply to the peninsula, Ukraine's commitment to remain neutral and not join NATO, and, finally, repeated referendums on joining Russia in a number of eastern Ukrainian regions which will secure these territories to Moscow if the locals say yes again.
In a subsequent post, the CEO of Tesla added that "it is very likely that this will end — the only question is how many more people will die before that."
Musk's tweet raised a barrage of criticism. So, the Ukrainian diplomat Andriy Melnyk rudely sent an entrepreneur: "Fuck you...", and added that this was "still a diplomatic response." His post quickly went viral, garnering over 90,000 likes, and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky tweeted his own poll and asked which Mask people prefer, pro-Russian or pro-Ukrainian.
Musk's proposal goes against the plans of the White House and the Ukrainian government about what Kiev can give up. On Friday, President Joe Biden said that the United States "will always respect the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine," and Zelensky claims that his country will never give up territory in favor of Russia.
In a poll attached to Musk's tweet, more than 60% of a million respondents voted against. Musk explained this dissent with an "unprecedented bot attack." In his opinion, this only proves that Twitter is flooded with "lime and spam". Earlier it was reported that the billionaire is trying to refuse to buy the giant for $ 44 billion.
Background of the issueMusk's friendly peace proposals are far from his original intentions: when the conflict broke out in Ukraine in February, he invited Putin to clash in single combat and received gratitude from the Ukrainian leadership for sending Starlink Internet terminals from SpaceX to the country.
It's not the first time Musk has stirred up Twitter with his polls: in November last year, he sold Tesla shares worth billions of dollars, after asking the public if it was worth it.
Related topicsMusk's controversial foreign policy proposal came after Tesla shares fell 9% in trading on Monday, reaching a three-month low.
The market did not like that car deliveries in the third quarter were significantly lower than planned.
Forbes RatingAccording to our estimates, Musk's fortune is estimated at $232 billion — about $ 90 billion more than his closest rival.
On Monday, Musk's personal capital decreased by $ 15 billion due to a drop in Tesla shares.