Elon Musk’s ‘Combat Challenge’ to Vladimir Putin Prompts Mockery in Russia

The Tesla CEO tweeted earlier this week, "I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat”.

By Reuters | Updated: 18 March 2022 10:14 IST

Elon Musk’s ‘Combat Challenge’ to Vladimir Putin Prompts Mockery in Russia

Ramzan Kadyrov addressed Musk by the feminine Russian first name Ilona

Highlights

Many Russian officials mocked Elon Musk online
Pavel Durov said he had booked the profile name "Еlona" on Telegram
Ramzan Kadyrov said he respected Musk for his character and strong will

The Kremlin may have ignored billionaire Elon Musk challenging President Vladimir Putin to a fight over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but several Russian officials have stepped in to defend their leader by mocking Musk online.

The eccentric Tesla CEO on Monday tweeted: "I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat", with Ukraine as the stakes. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russia's space agency who in the past had disparaged Musk as a rival space rocket maker, replied the same day by citing a poem referring to a "young little devil, too weak to compete with me".

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Russian region of Chechnya and an ally of Putin, addressed Musk by the feminine Russian first name Ilona, which sounds similar to Elon, telling him he lacked physical strength to fight Putin, a judo aficionado and "the terror of the West".

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

"Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) would look unsportsmanlike when he beats a weaker opponent like yourself," Kadyrov wrote, suggesting that Musk should pump up some muscles first to "transform into a manly Elon from tender Ilona".

Musk hit back on Tuesday, telling Kadyrov in a tweet signed "Elona" that he would have "too much of an advantage" after training. "If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed," he wrote.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced on Wednesday he had booked the profile name "Еlona" on his messaging app and was waiting for Musk to start using it, with Kadyrov quickly suggesting that Durov changed it to Ilona. Still, in a later post Kadyrov said he respected Musk for his character and strong will.

Russia State Websites Said to Be Under Constant Cyber Attacks: Report

Asked about the online squabbles, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday: "We don't follow it. We haven't been reading Twitter for a long time."

© Thomson Reuters 2022

This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, we dive into Apple's Peek Performance event. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.