Elon Musk is raising the stakes on his suggested fight with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, urging the Russian leader that he might “bring his bear” to the fight.
Musk challenged Putin to a “single combat” over Ukraine on Monday.
Russian space head Dmitry Rogozin quickly blasted him, posting a quote from Russian poet Alexander Pushkin that read: “You, little devil, are still young, too weak to compete with me.” It would be a waste of time. First, overtake my brother.”
Musk appeared to avoid Rogozin’s reaction in response to Rogozin’s tweet, commenting on Tuesday: “I see you are a tough negotiator! Okay, you may have 10% more.
Musk’s Twitter comeback to Rogozin included a composite image of a shirtless Putin riding a bear, alongside a photo of Musk holding a Boring Company flamethrower, with the words “Choose your fighter.” Musk went on to say in another tweet on Tuesday, “He can even bring his bear.”
Musk then offered Rogozin that they “form a book club,” tweeting a phrase from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s masterpiece “The Idiot” at the Russian space chief.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov criticized Musk when he issued the challenge to Putin. Musk was referred to as “Elona” by Kadyrov, a feminization of Musk’s first name, and he claimed that Musk would be killed in combat with Putin.
Musk responded to Kadyrov by extending his challenge to fight the Russian leader. “If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand, and I am not even left-handed,” Musk tweeted late Tuesday, signing off with the handle “Elona.”
Musk hasn’t said anything explicit about how or where a showdown with Putin would take place.
Meanwhile, Musk is sending SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network to Ukraine. In Ukraine, the Starlink app topped the download charts on fears that the Russian invasion would disrupt internet access.