Elon Musk challenges Putin for ‘single combat’, says ‘stakes are Ukraine’

Elon Musk, CEO of American electric vehicle manufacturing company Tesla and founder of aerospace company SpaceX, on Monday challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin for a “single combat” as Moscow continued its brutal offensive on Ukraine. “I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to a single combat,” tweeted Musk, adding, “stakes are Ukraine”.

Tweeting in Russian, the American billionaire further asked whether Putin “accepts this fight” and tagged the Kremlin in the post.

The tweet created an immediate buzz on social media with one of the baffled users asking Musk whether he has thought his challenge through. To this, the 50-year-old businessman responded, saying “absolutely serious”.

So far, the Kremlin has not reacted to Musk’s tweet. Ukraine is in the midst of a raging war after Putin launched a full-blown invasion on February 27. The war is now in its third week. Musk has been offering support to Ukraine through the micro-blogging site.

He also responded to a Kyiv plea by activating the Starlink internet service in Ukraine and sending the equipment to help bring connectivity to areas hit by Russian military attacks.

Earlier this month, he tweeted “Hold strong Ukraine”. He also offered his “sympathies to the great people of Russia, who do not want this” war.

This is not the first time the billionaire has created a buzz on social media with his tweets. In February, he had accused the US stock market regulator, which had imposed fines and restrictions on Musk and Tesla, of trying to muzzle his free speech.

He also compared Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler in a message supporting opponents of government Covid restrictions. The post was later deleted