Using nuclear weapons would likely be what the Kremlin would do to avert losing the Crimean peninsula, Elon Musk said via social media on Monday.

"If Russia is faced with the choice of losing Crimea or using battlefield nukes, they will choose the latter," Musk said, adding that  "Whether one likes it or not, Crimea is absolutely seen as a core part of Russia … From their standpoint losing Crimea is like USA losing Hawaii and Pearl Harbor."

Crimea is of critical national security importance to Russia, as it houses the latter's southern naval base, Musk added.

If Russia is faced with the choice of losing Crimea or using battlefield nukes, they will choose the latter.

We’ve already sanctioned/cutoff 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.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2022

This could lead to retaliatory nuclear strikes by NATO, which could cause a Third World War, Musk went on to say, adding that those who do not believe in a potential Third World War emerging from the conflict are "utterly dangerous fools."

Earlier this month, Musk published a Twitter poll proposing a "peace plan" for the war in Ukraine, arguing that Russia will probably win the war eventually, thus "millions of people may die needlessly for an essentially identical outcome." The poll led to other polls and a wave of criticism by some pro-Ukraine accounts, accusing him of taking a pro-Russia stance.

Also, a large number of Americans rejected going after Musk and asked the Starlink CEO to shut down the previously supplied internet to Ukraine.

It is worth noting that Elon Musk has been a fan favorite in Ukraine over the past few months, as he granted - though at the expense of the Biden administration - Kiev access to his international satellite-internet service, Starlink, and largely expressed his pro-Ukraine position online.

However, that all fell apart for the eccentric billionaire when he went on Twitter and displayed a pro-democratic sentiment in the Russian-liberated regions of the Donbass, asking whether the people of the region, as well as Crimea, should be able to decide whether they are a part of Russia or Ukraine and making several proposals that could help Moscow and Kiev achieve peace.

The Kremlin described Musk's initiative as positive, but it got Tesla's CEO lots of flak, as Ukrainian officials, diplomats, and even the country's president bashed the billionaire.