Elon Musk has changed his name on Twitter amid his ongoing quest to battle Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Elon Reeve Musk is an entrepreneur and business magnate. He is the CEO at SpaceX and Tesla, Inc. With an estimated net worth of around $221 billion as of March 2022, Musk is the wealthiest person in the world according to both the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and the Forbes real-time billionaires list.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Musk has used Twitter to support Ukraine’s efforts and denounce Putin’s actions. However, on Tuesday, the world’s richest man put his own skin in the game in which he challenged the Russian President to a one-on-one fight.
Musk said, using Russian and Ukrainian language for effect: “I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat. Stakes are Ukraine. If Putin could so easily humiliate the west, then he would accept the challenge. But he will not.”
Chechnya’s Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov responded to Musk’s challenge to Putin and jokingly called him “tender Elona”. Kadyrov is considered very close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is also a staunch supporter of Putin.
Prime Minister Kadyrov is the head of the Chechen Republic since 2007 and has been accused of gay hate crimes, as well as kidnapping government officials, journalists, and citizens.
On Monday, it was also reported that he and his Chechen forces are assisting the Russian military near Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv. Writing on Telegram, the suspected war criminal said that in order for Musk to beat Mr. Putin in a fight he would require immense training.
Kadyrov wrote in an English translation shared by Musk: “Elon Musk, a word of advice: Don’t measure strength against that of Putin’s. Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin’s middle name) will look unsportsmanlike when he beats the hell out of you, a much weaker opponent.”
Kadyrov also snubbed Musk by calling him “gentle effeminate Elona” and offered him training in three Chechen institutes, the Russian Special Forces University, the Akhmat Fight Club, and the Grozny Chechen State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company.
In response, Musk retaliated with a snarky tweet himself and changed his Twitter name from Elon Musk to Elona Musk. Elon wrote: “Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage. If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed.”
Kadyrov is not the only Putin ally to diss Elon Musk. The SpaceX CEO has gotten into a series of tiffs on Twitter with Russia’s space chief, Dmitry Rogozin.
The Roscosmos chief has repeatedly threatened to cut off Russia’s support to the International Space Station, and Musk has presented SpaceX as a solution.
Musk has been outspoken on Twitter about his support for Ukraine. He has provided Ukraine with the internet by launching satellite Starlink systems, and CNBC reported Tesla offered to pay three months’ salary to Ukrainian employees asked to return home to fight Russia.
On Friday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO sent millions of dollars worth of Starlink Rapid Deployment Kits, as well as power adaptors for car cigarette lighters, solar/battery packs, and electricity generators.
Currently, on day 20 of the invasion, British intelligence reports that Russian troops are struggling to bolster and support their forces. The British Department of Defence revealed Russia was “increasingly seeking to generate additional troops to bolster and replace its personnel losses in Ukraine.
British intelligence says: “As a result of these losses, it is likely Russia is struggling to conduct offensive operations in the face of sustained Ukrainian resistance. Continued personnel losses will also make it difficult for Russia to secure occupied territory.”
While major cities like Mariupol, Kyiv, Odesa, and Kharkiv continue to be under Russian shelling and attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told citizens on Sunday that their military had “reached a strategic turning point”.
President Zelensky said: “It is impossible to say how many days we still have ahead of us to free Ukrainian land. But we can say we will do it. We are already moving towards our goal, our victory.”