Chechen leader responds to Elon Musk challenge to fight Putin Elon Musk. (Suzanne Cordeiro/For the Austin American-Statesman/TNS)
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov responded to billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s challenge to fight Russian President Vladimir Putin for Ukraine, saying Putin would quickly defeat “weak” Musk.
A Google translation of Kadyrov’s response on Telegram read:
Elon Musk, I would not advise you to compete with Putin. Too different weight categories. And it’s not even about martial arts or, for example, judo. How do you imagine it? You are in the red corner of the ring – a businessman and a twitter blogger. Putin in blue is a world politician, strategist, a thunderstorm of the West and the USA. Vladimir Vladimirovich will look unsportsmanlike when he beats a weaker opponent.
Therefore, you need to pump up in order to turn from gentle Elona into brutal Elon. I propose to undergo training in several centers in the Chechen Republic:
– Russian University of Special Forces: Here you will undergo fire training. And you will be taught by world champions among special forces teams, who in 2015 beat the US special forces at once.
– Akhmat Fight club: Here you will be taught to take a hit, because this quality will be needed in any fight, and under the guidance of Abuzaid Vismuradov you will quickly pull yourself up not only physically, but also mentally, you will gain nerves of steel.
– Grozny Chechen State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company: Practice within the walls of the “Grozny” where they will tell you about American methods of “black PR” and teach you how to monitor and update social network accounts.
You will return from the Chechen Republic as a completely different person, Elona, that is, Elon.
In a mocking response posted on Twitter, Musk quipped that the additional training recommended by Kadyrov would give him “too much of an advantage” in a fight against Putin.
“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. Elona,” Musk 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.
Elona— Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2022
On Monday, Musk had challenged Putin to “single combat,” writing that the “stakes are Ukraine.”
“I hereby challenge [Vladimir Putin] to single combat,” Musk tweeted. “Stakes are [Ukraine].”
I hereby challenge
Владимир Путин
to single combat
Stakes are Україна— Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022
Another Twitter user questioned the legitimacy of Musk’s challenge, writing, “Did you think this through? Or Am I missing something?”
Musk responded, “I am absolutely serious.”
I am absolutely serious
— Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022
The director general of Russia’s space program Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, replied to Musk’s challenge with a verse from “The Tale of the Pope and his worker Balda” by A. S. Pushkin.
“You, little devil, are still young, Compete with me weak; It would only be a waste of time. Overtake my brother first,” Rogozin tweeted.
Musk has been an outspoken supporter of the Ukrainian resistance since the Russian invasion began. In late February, Musk activated SpaceX’s Starlink satellite system for Ukraine, giving the nation internet access for as long as the war lasts.
