'Not Today, Satan' : Elon Musk Ridiculed For His Tanks Remark

By Ed Scarce — January 9, 2023

Noted "military expert" Elon Musk weighed in on the usefulness of tanks for Ukraine, at a time when Ukraine is requesting the advanced Abrams tanks from the United States and the Leopard from Germany, and others. Real military experts were quick to shoot down his "expertise."

Source: The Independent

Twitter owner Elon Musk has sparked yet another debate on social media after he described tanks as “deathtraps” that should not be used in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Tanks are a deathtrap now,” tweeted Mr Musk before drawing parallels with the First World War. “With neither side having air superiority, you’re left with infantry & artillery – essentially WW1.”

The comments from the tech tycoon came as Ukraine received tank-killing armored vehicles in its latest multibillion-dollar package of military aid from the US.

This included 50 Bradley armored vehicles and 500 anti-tank missiles they can fire. Germany also announced it would supply around 40 Marder armored personnel carriers and France promised wheeled AMX-10 RC tank destroyers.

Musk's tweet.

Tanks are a deathtrap now. With neither side having air superiority, you’re left with infantry & artillery – essentially WW1.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2023

A former U.S. General was fairly blunt, invoking "Satan."

Not today, Satan.

My New Year’s resolution is to not engage with those who offer uninformed opinions when they have zero expertise and even less background/experience on the topic. https://t.co/i9J6H6dwYG

— MarkHertling (@MarkHertling) January 7, 2023

While another was a bit more diplomatic.

Very strange viewpoint by Musk. The key is the integration of combined arms warfare with AirPower, electronic warfare, deception, speed, maneuver, concentration of power. The M1 tank and M2 Inf Fighting Vehicle are the central killing tools in the battle. https://t.co/u0Bfi4kaP0

— Barry R McCaffrey (@mccaffreyr3) January 9, 2023

And a former congressman and pilot with the USAF with experience in Iraq weighed in as well.

Really one of the more nonsensical takes on war. Tanks are essential for counteroffensives and a game changer for Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/EdUVI31QV2

— Adam Kinzinger #fella (@AdamKinzinger) January 8, 2023

Nicholas Grossman, International Relations prof at U. Illinois and authority on drone warfare summed it up like this.

Elon Musk didn’t know what he was talking about when he told Ukraine to give in because Russian victory is inevitable.
He didn’t when he told Ukraine to give in because Russia will use nukes.
He doesn’t when he calls tanks useless.
There’s a pattern here:https://t.co/VDOkS8u3JM

— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) January 7, 2023

There's a pattern here all right, and not a good one for Musk.

Explore more

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.

Latest