Elon Musk says Putin can’t lose in Ukraine, opposes Senate bill for more aid

Musk added he hoped Americans would contact their elected representatives about the Ukraine bill. “This spending does not help Ukraine. Prolonging the war does not help Ukraine.”

Musk has expressed similar sentiments before on X, doubting Ukraine’s ability to win the war and mocking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s requests for aid. The tech mogul has come under criticism from Ukraine and Democratic members of Congress.

Musk said there was pressure on Putin to see the fight through. “If he were to back off, he would be assassinated,” Musk said.

Musk told the senators he’s sometimes accused of being a Putin apologist, but said that accusation was “absurd”. He said his companies “have probably done more to undermine Russia than anything”.

The Senate continued work on the bill late on Monday night, and it was expected to pass, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has insisted border security measures must come first.

Musk said his interest is in stopping the deaths of people on both sides of the war, adding he doubted the wisdom of seeking Putin’s ouster.

“For those who want regime change in Russia, they should think about who is the person that could take out Putin, and is that person likely to be a peacenik? Probably not.”

Musk said such a person would likely be “even more hardcore than Putin”.