Elon Musk claims WWIII is imminent if Russia and US resort to nuclear warfare

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that "civilization will be over" if Russia faces the destruction of their army in Ukraine. The Tesla CEO was responding to an article written by David Sacks on the Russia-Ukraine war, for the magazine Newsweek. "Exceptionally well said," typed Musk, in response to the article. Musk has been quite vocal about the escalation in the Russia Ukraine war. When a Twitter user asked Elon Musk if he thinks there is still a chance of nuclear war or a third world war, Musk responded with, "If Russia is faced with the choice of losing Crimea or using battlefield nukes, they will choose the latter. We’ve already sanctioned/cut off Russia in every possible way, so what more do they have left to lose? If we nuke Russia back, they will nuke us and then we have WW3."

Another Twitter user found a flaw in Musk's reasoning and responded by stating, "Don't be silly, they are not going to obliterate their world to save face. They will face a humiliating defeat and retreat, like Afghanistan, the challenges they will then face are internal, not external. Don't get suckered into the nonsense of histrionic outbursts." Musk replied by saying that he found the comparison with Afghanistan inaccurate. "Wrong analogy. America also had a humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan. No one in America sees that country as part of America. Crimea *is* seen as a crucial part of Russia by Russia, much as Hawaii is seen as a crucial part of America," said Musk. 

Musk compares Crimea with Pearl Harbour 

Adding that "Whether one likes it or not, Crimea is absolutely seen as a core part of Russia by Russia. Crimea is also of critical national security importance to Russia, as it is their southern navy base. From their standpoint, losing Crimea is like the USA losing Hawaii & Pearl Harbor." The mention of Pearl Harbour is noteworthy because it is the attack on Pearl Harbour by the Japanese which led to direct US involvement in the 2nd World War and ultimately the nuclear bomb attack on Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "If Russia faces the destruction of their army and utter defeat by NATO, they will use nukes, then NATO will respond with nukes and civilization is over. But, hey, look on the bright side! At least Russia doesn’t get Crimea in that scenario, so you can be comforted by that thought while watching the mushroom clouds rise," said Musk. The Tesla CEO was recently praised and criticised for asking the Pentagon to pay for the Starlink connection that he is sending to Ukraine, which is helping them on the battlefield.