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Tesla CEO Elon Musk was forced to make a rather unusual denial on Sunday: No, he did not give Chechnya President Ramzan Kadyrov a Cybertruck as a gift.
“Are you seriously so retarded that you think I donated a Cybertruck to a Russian general?” Musk wrote on his social media platform, X, formerly Twitter. “Yet another example of how much the legacy media lies,” he added.
Kadyrov — a self-styled strongman often referred to as a warlord — released a video on Saturday featuring him driving one of Tesla’s TSLA-3.38% electric pickup trucks. And, unlike — most, if not all — Cybertrucks, his comes complete with a mounted machine gun.
Kadyrov described the Cybertruck as “undoubtedly one of the best cars in the world,” adding that he “literally fell in love,” according to The Associated Press, which translated his remarks. For what it’s worth, Kadyrov isn’t alone in loving the Cybertruck; it was the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. priced over $100,000 last month, according to Kelly Blue Book.
Chechnya, a republic in the Russian Federation, and Kadyrov have been a longtime ally of Russian President Vladamir Putin. After Wagner paramilitary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin died, Kadyrov declared himself Putin’s “foot soldier” and said he was ready to die for him.
Kadyrov, who has already sent thousands of fighters to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said he would donate the Cybertruck to the war effort.
“It’s not for nothing that they call this a Cyberbeast,” he said. “I’m sure that this beast will bring plenty of benefits to our troops.”
The warlord has been sanctioned by the U.S. over serious human rights abuses for years after his forces were implicated in the murder of a Russian politician who opposed Putin. The Treasury Department in 2020 cited a number of other offenses, including extrajudicial killing and torture.
“Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny, I will receive you as my most dear guest!” Kadyrov said in the video, adding that he doesn’t think Russia would mind a visit from the billionaire.
“And, of course, we’re waiting for your new developments that will help us finish our special military operation” in Ukraine, he said. Kadryov may be referring to Russia’s use of satellite internet terminals developed by SpaceX’s Starlink subsidiary, which have been reportedly been delivered to the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war thanks to resellers.