Elon Musk waved off reports suggesting he recently spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine.
“I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago,” the 51-year-old billionaire tweeted Tuesday night. “The subject matter was space.”
His comment comes after American political scientist Ian Bremmer, president of political consulting firm Eurasia Group, claimed Musk told him directly about his conversation with Putin last month. Bremmer initially declined to comment on Musk’s pushback, but later doubled down on his comments with a tweet.
“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,” he wrote.
“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,” Bremmer continued. “i’ve long admired musk as a unique and world-changing entrepreneur, which i’ve said publicly. he’s not a geopolitics expert.”
The back-and-forth also comes days after the Tesla CEO posed a question about how to resolve the war in Ukraine to his 107 million Twitter followers. He dubbed the poll his “Ukraine-Russia Peace” plan, which invokes demands Kremlin officials have made repeatedly in recent months, and then offered his followers an opportunity to vote “yes” in support of his ideas or “no.”
“Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people. Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake). Water supply to Crimea assured. Ukraine remains neutral,” Musk tweeted.
The social media activity caught the eye of several Ukrainian officials, who took issue with his proposed plan.
“F—k off is my very diplomatic reply to you @ElonMusk,” Ukrainian diplomate Andrij Melnyk replied.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meanwhile responded with a poll of his own.
“Which @elonmusk do you like more?” his poll asked, offering voters the choice between a man who supports Russia or one that supports Ukraine.
