Musk Challenges Putin to a Duel with "Let's Fight"... Ukraine Cheers

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla [Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, mocked Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, which invaded Ukraine, and challenged him to a duel on the 14th (local time).

On that day, Musk tweeted, "I challenge Putin to a one-on-one duel," adding, "The stakes are Ukraine." He wrote President Putin’s name in Russian and the country name Ukraine in Ukrainian. He then tagged the Russian Kremlin account and asked in Russian, "Do you agree to this fight?"

Earlier, CEO Musk had supported Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. At the request of Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, he provided the Starlink satellite internet service, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude via Twitter.

After Musk’s tweet, Russia responded by calling him a "rookie." Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos, quoted a passage from a fairy tale collection by the great writer Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, commenting, "Little devil, you are still a rookie and a weakling. Challenging me is a waste of time. Catch my brother first and then come back."

Meanwhile, Ukraine posted messages supporting CEO Musk. Deputy Prime Minister Fedorov wrote on Twitter, "I am confident that Musk can send Putin to Jupiter."