--- title: "Elon Musk Says He Has Not Been Talking to Putin, Thank You Very Much" description: "After reports emerged that Elon Musk had allegedly been in contact with Russian president Vladimir Putin, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO smacked the claims down." date: "2022-10-11" modified: "2022-10-11" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-vladimir-putin-conversations-denial" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "the digest" - "ukraine" - "vladimir putin" --- # Elon Musk Says He Has Not Been Talking to Putin, Thank You Very Much ![After reports emerged that Elon Musk had allegedly been in contact with Russian president Vladimir Putin, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO smacked the claims down.]() *Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with heads of leading engineering schools and their industrial partners - participants of the Leading Engineering Schools project at Novgorod Technical School in Veliky Novgorod on September 21, 2022. (Photo by Gavriil GRIGOROV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## He Said, He Said After reports emerged that Elon Musk had allegedly been in contact with Russian president Vladimir Putin, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO smacked them down in classically Muskian fashion. "I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago," [Musk tweeted]() in response to the claims. "The subject matter was space." This response runs counter to reports from analyst Ian Bremmer, the founder of the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy, who [in a note to subscribers]() claimed that Musk had been speaking with the Russian president regarding the invasion of Ukraine, and that Putin was "prepared to negotiate" if Ukraine accepted the Russia's annexation demands. ## Passing Notes Bremmer went on to say in the note, which was viewed by [*Vice*](), [*Bloomberg*](), and other news outlets, that he'd discussed the purported peace talks with Musk a few weeks prior — and that the Russian demands were mirrored by the billionaire's [now-infamous Twitter poll]() in which he asked his followers whether Ukraine should give in to specific Russian demands. That poll, while [wildly unpopular in the West](), was apparently [viewed favorably by the Kremlin](), with officials cracking jokes that seemed to denote a sort of backhanded affection for Musk. "I wasn’t planning on writing about this," Bremmer wrote in the subscriber note, adding that "it feels important to write about what’s happening." In [response to yet another tweet]() in the thread, Musk went on to say that it would be "pointless" for him to speak with Putin, given that "there is currently no overlap between Russian and Ukrainian demands." While it's now unclear which figure is lying, it should be noted that Musk has heretofore [seemed pretty supportive of Ukraine]() amid its invasion from its large and powerful neighbor, and even was reported to have [spoken with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky]() in March of this year. **More Elon-ism:** [*Professor of Engineering Issues Brutal Dig at Elon Musk, Sparking Backlash*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()