Tesla owner Elon Musk faced a massive backlash on Monday, including from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and others, for a poll he held on Twitter, asking users to vote on his ideas to end Russia’s war.
“F--- off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” Former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, wrote in response to Musk’s tweet. “The only outcome is that now no Ukrainian will EVER buy your f…ing tesla crap. So good luck to you.”
Zelensky, meanwhile, decided to hold his own poll, asking users, "Which Elon Musk do you like more?"
The options included were "One who supports Ukraine" and "One who supports Russia."
The billionaire Tesla CEO also suggested making Crimea, a region Russia invaded and annexed from Ukraine in 2014, “formally part of Russia.” He added in bullet points: “Water supply to Crimea assured” and “Ukraine remains neutral.”
It is true that Musk's proposals aren't exactly new, even though he himself has not voiced them before -- a variety of analysts have made similar proposals in the past, arguing for an end to this war that has plunged the world into economic uncertainty and increased risk of nuclear war. Realistically, there is unlikely to be any outcome where Ukraine regains control of Crimea.
However, the infuriated response from Ukrainians is understandable -- during the early period of the war, Musk gained something of a quasi-heroic status in Ukraine. When Ukraine’s internet was disrupted following Russia’s invasion, Musk responded to a tweet by a Ukrainian government official seeking help.
At the time, Musk said that SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service was available in Ukraine and that SpaceX was sending more terminals.
However, it should be noted that Zelensky himself has on more than one occasion stated that Kyiv's goal is to retake the Crimean peninsula.
“It started in Crimea, and it will end in Crimea, and this will be an effective revival of the international legal order,” Zelensky told the Crimea Platform summit in August. Zelensky has consistently maintained that Ukraine will not cede any of its territory to Russia.
