--- title: "Vladimir Putin Declares His Love for Elon Musk" description: "Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed in on Elon Musk — and unsurprisingly, he's got some bullish words of praise for the billionaire." date: "2023-09-12" modified: "2023-09-12" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/vladimir-putin-loves-elon-musk" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "the digest" - "ukraine" - "vladimir putin" --- # Vladimir Putin Declares His Love for Elon Musk ![Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed in on Elon Musk — and unsurprisingly, he's got some bullish words of praise for the billionaire.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Bully 4 U Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed in on Elon Musk — and unsurprisingly, he's bullish. "As far as private business and Elon Musk is concerned," Putin said at Russia's Eastern Economic Forum, per a [*Reuters* translation](), "he is undoubtedly an outstanding person. This must be recognized, and I think it is recognized all over the world." Putin added that he thinks Musk is "an active and talented businessman and he is succeeding a lot, including with the support of the American state." Though he didn't mention it explicitly, the Russian president's comments come just days after Musk revealed that he'd [denied a Ukrainian request]() for Starlink internet access on the front lines of its war with Russia — a denial that essentially [sabotaged Ukraine's military]() in its defense against the invaders. The South African-Canadian entrepreneur claims he chose not to grant the Starlink request because he felt Ukraine's "obvious intent" was "to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor." "If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation," Musk continued, not acknowledging the many acts of war and escalations undertaken by Russia, who he implicitly supported with this decision and in countless other major and minor utterances. ## Turn Tables In the 18-ish months since the start of the Russian invasion, Musk has gone from [challenging Putin to hand-to-hand combat]() and [threatening him with a flamethrower]() to suggesting that Ukraine give in to the country's demands or [risk nuclear war](). After Musk's strange suggestion that Ukraine throw down the white flag, Kremlin officials began [back-handedly complimenting]() the world's richest man while [rumors began swirling]() that the Russian president and the SpaceX and Tesla owner were in talks. Musk denied that he'd spoken to Putin since the invasion began, but the world has nevertheless watched with unease as the once-acrimonious relationship between these two uber-powerful men cooled off — and now, the Russian politician is outright praising the controversial titan of industry. Musk hasn't yet responded to Putin's praise, but it seems only a matter of time before he says *something* about the accolades — and there seems little doubt that he'll throw out a few of his own, too. **More on Musk:** [*Elon Musk Frantically Moved Twitter Servers Himself, Eventually Realized His Mistake*]() ## 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]()