Elon Musk challenges Vladimir Putin to a fight over Ukraine

Photographer RM/Shutterstock | Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock

Tesla CEO Elon Musk chose violence on Monday morning.

The billionaire took to Twitter to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin to “single combat,” with the “stakes” being Ukraine.

“I hereby challenge [Vladimir Putin] to single combat,” tweeted Musk. “Stakes are [Ukraine].”

I hereby challenge
Владимир Путин
to single combat

Stakes are Україна

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022

Maybe he’s wired after losing an hour of sleep due to Daylight Savings, but Musk doubled down, tagging the Kremlin in a follow-up tweet.

“Do you agree to this fight?” he tweeted in Russian.

Вы согласны на этот бой? @KremlinRussia_E

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022

He caught the attention of one Russian politician, Dmitry Rogozin, director-general of Russia’s space program, Roscosmos. He retweeted Musk with a quote from Alexander Pushkin’s The Tale of the Priest and His Workman Balda.

“You, little devil, are still young,” Rogozin tweeted in Russian. “Compete with me, weak, 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

— РОГОЗИН (@Rogozin) March 14, 2022

Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted in support of Musk.

“I am sure that [Elon Musk] can send Putin to Jupiter,” he said.

I am sure that @elonmusk can send Putin to Jupiter. https://t.co/bXxy7yaQxJ

— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 14, 2022

Fedorov also included a link to a crowdfunding site that lets people donate to send Putin to the gas giant.

“Donate to help us build a rocket that will send a bloody dictator far, far away,” the site reads.

Musk is known for his controversial social media posts. Earlier this month, he mocked Russia for cutting off the US from access to its rockets, joking that his rockets would be carried by “American broomsticks.”

🇺🇸🇺🇸 American Broomstick 🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/r2hJvFQosS

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2022

In February, he tried to start Twitter beef with Canada’s Prime Minister, comparing Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler in a tweet that has since been deleted.

While Musk usually tweets erratically, he has also continued to show his support for Ukraine in productive ways. According to Bloomberg, a video shared on March 5 showed him speaking directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Hold Strong Ukraine,” Musk tweeted on the same day.

The Tesla CEO also gave Ukraine access to Starlink, a system of 2,000 satellites that make the internet accessible to countries in need around the world.

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