If the whole billionaire businessman thing doesn’t work out for Elon Musk, he seems to have a budding future in combat sports. As Musk continues to try to lure Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg into a cage match, another potential contender is challenging Musk to a fight–Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The recently re-elected politician, who is facing allegations that he cheated his way back into office, made the challenge Monday in a truly bonkers series of accusations. Maduro also labeled Musk as his “arch enemy”.
“Social media creates a virtual reality, and who controls the virtual reality? Our new archenemy, the famous Elon Musk,” Maduro said. “Do you want to fight? Let’s do it. Elon Musk, I’m ready. I’m not afraid of you, Elon Musk. Let’s fight, wherever you want.” Maduro also claimed that Musk wanted to invade Venezuela with his “space rockets.”
Following the announcement of the election results, Musk made remarks denouncing Maduro and calling him a “dictator” and accused him of “major election fraud.”
The National Electoral Council of Venezuela reports that Maduro received 51% of the vote in the election. According to the council, opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez garnered 44% of the vote.
The opposition, which has demanded military intervention, has contested the results, which were announced after a protracted wait. (Pre-election surveys revealed Gonzalez to be well ahead.) Maduro took over as president in 2013. During that time, the nation has experienced a startling economic collapse and the departure of over 8 million residents.
“Quite frankly, we have serious concerns that the result as announced does not reflect the will and the votes of the Venezuelan people,” White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters on Monday.
Maduro’s challenge comes just days after Musk once again challenged Zuckerberg to a fight. Leaving Capitol Hill last Thursday, where he attended Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech as an invited guest, Musk told reporters “I’ll fight Zuckerberg any place, any time, any rules.”