In the midst of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk challenged Vladimir Putin to a single combat on Monday.
The eccentric billionaire went on Twitter, where his messages are famously unpredictable, to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin would put him to the test in person instead of through his nation’s soldiers fighting across the border.
I hereby challenge
Владимир Путин
to single combatStakes are Україна
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022
The Kremlin did not respond immediately. Musk’s Twitter followers, on the other hand, had a field day following the tweet.
Having shared a comparative graph of Musk and Putin’s height, someone tweeted: “The fight would be over in 10 seconds. It would just depend on how much damage Elon would want to do how fast. Nothing else. Elon is also 19 years younger.”
https://twitter.com/jurijfedorov/status/1503333565089652736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1503333565089652736%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.livemint.com%2Fnews%2Findia%2Felon-musk-challenges-putin-to-fight-for-ukraine-here-s-how-twitter-reacted-11647272268633.html
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice president, also chimed in, saying that there is always the option of sending Putin to Jupiter. “We can send him to Jupiter just in case,” he stated, sharing a link to a donation page for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 14, 2022
Putin still has to give a response to the tweet, but Russian government officials have been glad to answer in his place.
“You, little devil, are still young,” Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, tweeted. “Compete with me weakling. It would only be a waste of time.”
Ты, бесенок, еще молоденек,
Со мною тягаться слабенек;
Это было б лишь времени трата.
Обгони-ка сперва моего брата.А. С. Пушкин "Сказка о Попе и работнике его Балде" https://t.co/KuR328iH20
— ROGOZIN (@Rogozin) March 14, 2022
Musk responded to Rogozin by tweeting:
He can even bring his bear
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2022
Hacker collective Anonymous, on the other hand, has chastised the billionaire for taking on Putin.
The hacker has already started a cyberwar against Russia. He was unimpressed by the challenge posed by the 50-year-old billionaire. Anonymous slammed Musk for the’stunt,’ saying it was a cynical attempt to gain attention.
Elon has no authority regarding the legal status of statehood & sovereignty of Ukraine. People are suffering, innocents are being killed, cities are being bombed, women and children are dying:
Elon pushes publicity stunt. Shame on you.https://t.co/djJZ2Sy0mm— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) March 14, 2022
Musk, who was born in South Africa, had previously expressed his support for Kyiv, tweeting “Hold strong Ukraine” earlier this month while also expressing “my sympathies to the great people of Russia, who do not want this” war.
Musk has been remarkably forthright and public in his support for Ukraine and criticism of Putin, and his support has not been limited to challenging the Russian president to a Twitter duel. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has not shied away from using the vast array of resources at his disposal to assist the tenacious Ukrainian resistance movement and besieged citizens.
Following a public request by Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Musk accelerated the planned rollout of internet coverage from his satellite internet company Starlink to Ukraine. Musk and Fedorov claimed that increased Starlink coverage would provide Ukrainian forces with a tactical advantage over an invading Russian army. Just recently, the satellite dishes required to run the Starlink service began to arrive a day after Musk’s announcement.
Musk’s tweets frequently raise eyebrows. In February, he accused the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which had imposed fines and restrictions on Musk and Tesla, of attempting to stifle his free speech.
In a message supporting opponents of government Covid restrictions, he compared Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler. Later, he deleted the post.
