Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, predicted the bloodshed in Ukraine would soon escalate to the point where Vladimir Putin would be prepared for nuclear war after he purportedly talked to the Russian President.
His gloomy predictions followed his posting a poll on Twitter at the beginning of the month, outlining what he believed to be a sensible strategy to bring peace to Ukraine.
His proposal called for Ukraine to cede control of the Crimean Peninsula to Russia and for elections in annexations to be held again under UN supervision with Russia withdrawing if the population so desires.
In a subsequent tweet, he said that “nuclear war is a conceivable, though improbable, conclusion from this battle.”
The too-basic idea proposed by Musk was rejected, and the following day, on October 4, podcaster David Sacks published an opinion article in Newsweek in which he defended Musk.
According to Sacks, “the Twitter mob that has emerged to regulate the conversation on all things relating to Ukraine” gathered on the millionaire.
And today, on October 17, before being questioned whether he felt there was a chance of a nuclear conflict or World War Three, Musk quote tweeted the item, stating that it was “exceptionally well-said.”
Then he said: “Russia would choose to use battlefield nuclear weapons over surrendering the Crimea if given the option. What more do they have to lose since Russia has already been subject to every imaginable sanction and cutoff?
“If we bomb Russia again, they’ll bomb us, and we’ll be in a third world war.” It follows allegations that Musk communicated with Putin personally before posting his peace offering. Musk disputes that. “Putin and I have only communicated once, perhaps 18 months ago. The topic concerning space, “added he.
They allegedly discussed starting a war, according to a report by Ian Bremmer. Bremmer stated: “Elon Musk informed me he had direct conversations on Ukraine with Putin and the Kremlin. He also revealed to me the red lines of the Kremlin.”
Bremmer made the first allegation in his geopolitical weekly newsletter, which he has been publishing for 24 years, and said that he did so “honestly without fear or favor and this week’s report was no different.”
He said, “I’ve maintained publicly for a long time that I respect Musk as a singular and world-changing businessman. He lacks geopolitical expertise.
Global War Threats
If Putin was being cautious about nuclear threats in the early stages of the conflict, he most definitely isn’t being cautious today. Putin threatened to protect the four eastern Ukrainian territories it had just acquired with “all measures at our disposal” at the end of September, a warning that many saw as nuclear in nature.
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas of Estonia issued a response the same day Putin made his announcement, claiming that “Russia is seizing Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia territories from Ukraine and threatening the world with nuclear weapons.” Earlier that week, Ukraine’s intelligence head warned the Guardian that the possibility of Russia deploying tactical nuclear weapons had grown “extremely high.”
The employment of tactical nuclear weapons is a major theme in Putin’s subversive nuclear threats. Never employed in battle before, these tiny warheads are intended for short-range firing to demolish enemy lines without spreading radioactive fallout.
By the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse in the early 1990s, there were around 22,000 tactical nuclear weapons in Russia, but many have since been decommissioned. According to U.S. intelligence assessments, Russia presently maintains an arsenal of around 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons.
Musk is not the first individual to express concern about the likelihood of World War III starting soon; neither Putin nor nuclear weapons are cited as the only potential causes.
The globe is already in the midst of World War III as a result of the Ukraine War, which has “wide repercussions that go far beyond Russia and Ukraine,” according to Nouriel Roubini, an NYU economist who has predicted enough dire economic developments over the years to earn the nickname “Dr. Doom.” Roubini issued this warning in an interview with Yahoo Finance on Monday.
The likelihood of a new world war is increasing, according to Roubini, as a result of escalating tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan’s future, which might lead to another global “hot war.”
According to Roubini, a clash between the United States and China over Taiwan will take place within the next five to ten years. That’s where World War III begins, but we have no idea when it will occur or how it will be ended.
With inputs from Daily Star & Fortune.com