"The longer the war goes on, the more territory Russia will gain until they hit the Dnepr, which is tough to overcome," Musk wrote.

"However, if the war lasts long enough, Odessa will fall too."

Moreover, the prominent entrepreneur lamented that it was a "tragic waste of life" for Ukraine, militarily inferior to Russia, to attack the larger Russian army that had defense in depth, minefields, and stronger artillery.

"Any fool could have predicted that," he posited.

"Whether Ukraine loses all access to the Black Sea or not is, in my view, the real remaining question. I recommend a negotiated settlement before that happens," Musk said.

This is not the first time Musk has made contrarian statements regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Formerly, Musk called on the United States to stop giving weapons to Ukraine, raising doubts about the possibility of Moscow's defeat.

Additionally, Musk has altered his position on Ukraine several times since the conflict began in early 2022. He initially supplied Kyiv with free Starlink internet terminals and access to the satellite-based network, but declined to activate the service near Crimea lest Ukraine would use it to conduct drone attacks on Russia's Black Sea fleet.

If this had happened, Musk explained last year, SpaceX would have been "complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation."