Elon Musk warns of World War III potential

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Monday the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, raise the potential for World War III.

“We need to figure out peace in Ukraine, and I think we need to restore normal relations with Russia,” Musk said in a talk on his social media platform X on Monday.

“World War III is a civilizational risk that we may not recover from. So we need to prioritize avoiding World War III, that’s what actually matters,” he said. “And not what happened in World War I and have a regional conflict rapidly become a global conflict.”

The billionaire had previously offered a proposal to end the Ukraine war, which would have potentially ceded large swathes of Ukraine to Russia. He called for a ceasefire again Monday, saying war against Russia is “helpless.”

Musk’s suggestions have been derided by Ukrainian officials as non-starters. “F— off is my very diplomatic reply to you @elonmusk,” Ukrainian diplomat Andriy Melnyk responded to his proposal in October 2022.

Still, the billionaire has been an influential figure in the war, leveraging his powerful Starlink internet technology which enables much of the Ukrainian military at the front. That includes allegations that Musk turned off Starlink access for the Ukrainian military in certain situations.

Amid the newly-erupted war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza — spurred earlier this month by a Hamas surprise attack killing mostly Israeli civilians — Musk said U.S. might could be tested by an alliance between Russia, China and Iran.

“We do not have an overwhelming advantage in industrial might,” he said of the U.S. facing off against such an alliance. “The foundation of war is economic power, especially industrial output, basically how many tanks and guns and drones can you make, relative to the other side.”

The talk on X was hosted by fellow tech entrepreneur David Sacks and also featured presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who Musk has signaled that he may support.