Russia's Putin will be 'assassinated' if he steps back from Ukraine war, says Elon Musk

Tesla Inc's billionaire Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said "there is no way in hell" that Vladimir Putin can lose the Ukraine war, claiming that the Russian president would likely face assassination if he pulls out.

The comments were made by Musk in a forum on Monday (Feb 12) on X Spaces, which is part of X social media platform he owns.

Musk said that Putin has been pressurised to see the fight through. "If he were to back off, he would be assassinated," Musk added.

Musk discussed opponents of a Senate bill, which will provide more assistance for Ukraine to carry on battle with Russia on a full scale.

In the discussions, Musk was joined by JD Vance of Ohio, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and David Sacks, a co-founder of Craft Ventures LLC.

The comments of Musk came as he agreed with the statement of Johnson that Putin will not lose the Ukraine war.

Johnson said that those who have been expecting a victory in Ukraine were "living in a fantasy world."

Musk said that he is hopeful Americans will contact their elected representatives regarding the Ukraine bill. "This spending does not help Ukraine. Prolonging the war does not help Ukraine," he said.

Musk expresses doubt over Ukraine's win

Similar sentiments have been expressed by Musk before on X as he has doubted the ability of Ukraine to win the war and mocked the requests made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy regarding the aid.

Speaking to the senators, Musk said he sometimes faces accusations of being a Putin apologist, and called the accusation "absurd."

He stated that his companies "have probably done more to undermine Russia than anything."

Watch:Elon Musk reveals 'Game Plan' to relocate millions people on Mars

He spoke about how SpaceX provided Starlink internet service to the battled Ukraine after it was invaded by Ukraine.

Musk said he is interested in stopping the deaths of people on both sides of the war, adding that he doubted the wisdom of those 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," he added.

Musk the person replacing him would likely be "even more hardcore than Putin."

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.