In this photograph illustration, Twitter account of Elon Musk is seen on a smartphone monitor and Twitter emblem in the qualifications.
Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Illustrations or photos
WASHINGTON — American tech billionaire Elon Musk drew the general public ire of Ukraine’s top officers on Monday just after the Tesla CEO tweeted what he claimed was the most probably final result of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
“F— off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, wrote in response to Musk’s tweet. “The only final result is that now no Ukrainian will At any time get your f…ing tesla crap. So fantastic luck to you.”
Musk posted a Twitter poll gauging help for what he claimed was a most likely consequence of the 7-thirty day period conflict. Exclusively:
- That the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, which Russia annexed by pressure in 2014, be permanently presented to Russia and confirmed a everlasting drinking water supply.
- That the 4 areas of jap Ukraine where Russia held sham referendums very last thirty day period prior to illegally annexing the land be set to new referendums, this time arranged by the United Nations.
- That Ukraine ought to be pressured to stay “neutral,” accomplishing the prolonged-phrase Kremlin goal of barring Ukraine from joining the NATO defensive alliance.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy responded with a Twitter poll of his have.
“Which Elon Musk do you like more,” Zelenskyy asked. “The one who supports Ukraine” or “The a single who supports Russia.”
The sharp responses from Ukraine had been all the much more notable for the reason that Musk has acquired quasi folks-hero status in Ukraine considering the fact that the start out of the conflict.
Musk’s Starlink satellite interaction program has permitted Ukrainians and the Ukrainian armed forces to bypass world wide web outages that have plagued the region.
Yet the remarks from Musk are not solely out of character for the political iconoclast and world’s richest guy.
Although the business enterprise interests of Tesla have ordinarily aligned with the American political remaining, Musk himself has of late cultivated an antagonistic romantic relationship with significant Democratic political figures such as President Joe Biden, whose administration has boosted Ukraine by weapons offers and sanctions on Moscow.