Elon Musk floated his pro-Kremlin Ukraine peace plan at a private summit 10 days before tweeting it, report says
Elon Musk discussed his Ukraine peace plan at a secretive meeting of billionaires, The NYT reported.
It was another 10 days before he tweeted it, to huge controversy.
Musk was criticized because the plan repeated Russian arguments about how the war should end.
Elon Musk floated his controversial plan for peace in Ukraine at a meeting of political leaders and billionaires before making it public, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, Musk, the founder of Tesla and the world's richest man, made the comments at an elite event in Aspen, Colorado, in September called The Weekend.
According to the report, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Al Gore were at the event, alongside other political and business leaders.
Two people who attended the event and spoke on condition of anonymity told the Times that Musk outlined his plan in an on-stage discussion with David Rubenstein, a billionaire businessman.
The core proposal is to hand over some Ukrainian territory to Russia, a position Ukrainian leaders have said is unacceptable.
Ten days later, Musk tweeted the plan, which appeared new at the time.
It drew fierce criticism from Ukraine and praise from the Kremlin.
Critics said the plan echoed Russian talking points on Ukraine. Ian Bremmer, a political scientist, claimed that Musk described speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin before publicizing the claim. Musk later denied that.
The Times report said that White House National Security advisor Jake Sullivan joined the Aspen meeting via video-link and was asked about Musk's plan, but did not comment on it.
Musk has provided, and partly funded, the Starlink satellite system to Ukraine, allowing its military to stay connected in a warzone.
Earlier in October he threatened to stop funding the service, though soon backed down.
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