Key Points
- Billionaire Elon Musk has come under fire from several Twitter users.
- He tweeted a poll with suggestions about how to solve the war waging between Russia and Ukraine.
has come under fire from several Twitter users after tweeting a poll with suggestions about how to solve the war waging between Russia and Ukraine.
The Tesla CEO has suggested that an election is held in the regions annexed by Russia, supervised by the United Nations. He said that Russia must leave "if that is the will of the people".
His next condition to attaining "peace" is for Crimea, a Ukrainian territory that is currently annexed by Russia, to be declared formally as part of Russia. He said that it "has been" under Russian territory under 1783 "until Khrushchev's mistake".
Mr Musk goes on to assert further that water in Crimea must be assured and Ukraine should remain neutral.
More than 1.5 million users have already participated in the poll in under five hours since it has been posted.
At the time of writing, the 'No' vote was at 63.2 per cent, and 'Yes' at 36.8 per cent.
"This is highly likely to be the outcome in the end – just a question of how many die before then," he tweeted.
"Also worth noting that a possible, albeit unlikely, outcome from this conflict is nuclear war."
What has the response to Elon Musk's tweet been?
His tweet has generated tens of thousands of reactions, many furious at Mr Musk for backing the Russian government's attempts at securing annexed regions of Ukraine, as well as trivialising the serious conflict on social media.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted with a tongue-in-cheek poll on his own profile, asking his 6.6 million followers which Elon Musk they like more: "one who supports Russia" or "one who supports Ukraine".
Kyiv's ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk also replied to Mr Musk: "F--- off is my very diplomatic reply to you.
"The only outcome (is) that now no Ukrainian will EVER buy your f…ing tesla crap. So good luck to you."
Ukrainian representative to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said Mr Musk's attempts at forging peace with no experience in international relations were similar to that of him working in the plumbing trade.
"Next time I need a plumber I call @elonmusk. He doesn’t do plumbing?! Then what the heck’s the matter, why does he speak of international relations and [international] law?" he wrote.
"[By the way] a good plumber is better than Musk’s secondhand opinions on illegally occupied territories of a foreign nation."
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko replied too, asking if the SpaceX founder and CEO had any other suggestions.
"Elon, any other ideas are there, in space? Our earthly response to the Russian aggressor," Mr Klitschko wrote.
Foreign Affairs Minister of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis accused Mr Musk of simplifying the conflict, writing: "Westsplainers gonna westsplain."
The official account of the Ukrainian parliament had a one-word reply to Mr Musk: "No."
Mr Musk later said Moscow could announce a full mobilisation, leading to a "full war" where "death on both sides will be devastating" given Russia's far larger population.
"Victory for Ukraine is unlikely in total war. If you care about the people of Ukraine, seek peace," he wrote on Twitter.
When a Twitter user explained to Mr Musk his tweets were angering Ukrainians around the world, he said he did not care about being popular.
"You are assuming that I wish to be popular. I don’t care," he wrote.
"I do care that millions of people may die needlessly for an essentially identical outcome."
