Elon Musk is pessimistic.
The CEO of Tesla (TSLA), who is accustomed to bombastic statements even when the odds are against him, seems, for once, to have no solution to offer.
He seems to have given up.
This is rare for the techno king who likes to repeat that his mission is to transform civilization as it is with his various companies - Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company and Neuralink.
Faced with the skepticism of his detractors, who see in him a megalomaniacal boss and as the reflection of an era dominated by social networks, Musk often stands his ground, insisting that the future will prove him right.
It is this stubbornness and standing alone against all that his millions of admirers love about him. This is why it is important to emphasize his pessimism.
But this time the billionaire seems to have given up. His illusions are gone. The whimsical entrepreneur has just indicated that the chances of peace between Russia and the Ukraine have become extremely small.
'Pointless'
He considers that it would not even be useful for him to speak personally with Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to negotiate a peace plan. For Musk, the Ukrainian and Russian demands are diametrically opposed. There is no point that can allow the beginning of a dialogue.
It all started with a message from a Twitter user asking Musk to confirm or deny a report saying he spoke to Putin before the unveiling of his October 3 peace plan, a plan widely criticized by Ukrainian authorities because it mirrors Russian demands.
"Hi @elonmusk Is this true?" the Twitter user asked, referring to an article sent to subscribers by Ian Bremmer, the founder of Eurasia Group.
In this article, Bremmer claims that the billionaire personally confided in him that he had spoken to Putin. Putin had told him that he was "prepared to negotiate,” if the Ukrainians recognized that Crimea, a Ukrainian region annexed in 2014 by Russia, was a Russian territory and agreed to observe a type of neutrality in global affairs. These were the two main points in Musk's plan.
"No, it is not," the tech tycoon responded. "I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space."
It was then that his fans asked him: "Elon, would you be open to having a conversation with Putin again (if he permits, of course) and discuss the possibility options to peace plan so that the world could avert another war coming its way?"
"Pointless," Musk responded without hesitation. "As there is currently no overlap between Russian and Ukrainian demands – it’s not even close."
A New Feud
"I’ve long admired Musk as a unique and world-changing entrepreneur, which i've said publicly. he's not a geopolitics expert," Bremmer pushed back on Twitter after the billionaire's denial. "I have been writing my weekly newsletter on geopolitics for 24 yrs. I write honestly without fear or favor and this week’s update was no different."
He doubled down: "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."
"Nobody should trust Bremmer," Musk hit back.
Eurasia Group is a sort of geopolitical think tank that sends a weekly newsletter to thousands of clients, to inform them of geopolitical risks around the world. It provides analyses on various geopolitical issues, thus helping investors in their investment decisions.
Despite the feud between the billionaire and Bremmer, Musk's tone and words suggest dejection. He had admitted on October 9 that he could not sleep because he was trying to find solutions to this war which could escalate to a nuclear conflict with serious consequences for Ukraine and the world. Putin has indeed threatened to resort to nuclear weapons.
US President Joe Biden and Musk seem convinced that he is not kidding after the stubborn resistance of the Ukrainians who recaptured some of the cities lost from the Russians in the first months of their country's invasion on February 24.
"Nuclear war probability is rising rapidly," the billionaire warned on October 9.
The alert came three days after President Joe Biden warned of "Armageddon" amid nuclear threats by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since [president John] Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis,” Biden said during a fundraiser in New York on October 6.
"We’ve got a guy” -- Russian President Vladimir Putin -- "I know fairly well. He’s not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons," the president added.
