Elon Musk has rejected as false a "bombshell" report in Vice News alleging that the billionaire Tesla CEO spoke directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin before Musk issued his controversial "Russia-Ukraine Peace" poll on Twitter last week.
"Elon Musk spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin before tweeting a proposal to end the war in Ukraine that would have seen territory permanently ceded to Russia, it has been claimed," the Tuesday Vice report began.
The single source for the claim is Ian Bremmer, who it just so happens has repeatedly lashed out at Musk in the past.
Hi @elonmusk Is this true?https://t.co/C4tLJ1HtPy
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) October 11, 2022
"No, it is not" true, Musk responded to the story when asked by a commentator on Twitter. "I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space," he added.
The Vice story indicated the news organization had reached out to Musk and was still awaiting a response. It dubiously relied solely on claims made by Bremmer in an emailed newsletter sent to his Eurasia Group subscribers:
In a mailout sent to Eurasia Group subscribers, Ian Bremmer wrote that Tesla CEO Musk told him that Putin was “prepared to negotiate,” but only if Crimea remained Russian, if Ukraine accepted a form of permanent neutrality, and Ukraine recognised Russia’s annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Amid the "he said, he said" - the purpose of the hit piece and allegations have perhaps become all too clear, as Musk can now once again be accused by blue-check narrative enforcers of somehow being a Kremlin stooge...
So his pals are Kanye and Vladimir and shockingly he wants to buy Twitter.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 11, 2022
The Vice report, and its very specific accusations, continued:
According to Bremmer, Musk said Putin told him these goals would be accomplished “no matter what,” including the potential of a nuclear strike if Ukraine invaded Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Bremmer wrote that Musk told him that “everything needed to be done to avoid that outcome.”
Vice then strongly suggested that Musk is taking his talking points direct from the Russian leader himself, at a moment the Kremlin executes a bloody war on Ukraine: "Last week, Musk posted essentially the same points on Twitter, although he suggested that the referendums in the annexed territories slammed as sham votes by Ukraine and the West be redone under supervision by the United Nations," the report followed with.
Meanwhile, at a moment the world looks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict with growing alarm at the ratcheting nuclear rhetoric...
we're in the nightmare scenario where "is ian bremmer or elon musk more of a liar" has become a question of supreme geopolitical importance pic.twitter.com/aPB9y7Kjus
— Will Stancil (@whstancil) October 11, 2022
