Elon Musk has warned that "civilisation is over" if Ukraine does not give in to Russia.
The 51-year-old business magnate explained that Ukraine - which has been subject to an ongoing military invasion at the hands of Russian president Vladimir Putin since February - may fall victim to the use of "battlefield nukes" by its neighbouring country if they do not surrender.
Elon tweeted: "If Russia is faced with the choice of losing Crimea or using battlefield nukes, they will choose the latter. "[The West has] already sanctioned/cutoff Russia in every possible way, so what more do they have left to lose? 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"
The Tesla founder added that if Ukraine does not surrender then it could lead to World War 3 and that the Eastern Europe peninsula of Crimea is of "national security importance" to Russia and compared their standpoint to the surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States in World War 2.
He added: "If we nuke Russia, then they will nuke us back and then we will have WW3. 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 USA losing Hawaii and Pearl Harbor.
"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!"
