Elon Musk has challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to "single combat" to decide Ukraine's future.
Musk, Tesla and SpaceX CEO, tweeted his challenge Monday.
"I hereby challenge Владимир Путин [Vladimir Putin] to single combat," Musk wrote. "Stakes are Україна [Ukraine]
"Вы согласны на этот бой? [Do you agree to this fight?]" Musk wrote in a follow-up tweet in which he tagged the official Twitter account for the Russian presidency.
Asked by one follower whether he had thought through his challenge, Musk replied: "I am absolutely serious."
The world's wealthiest man later responded to another follower: "If Putin could so easily humiliate the west, then he would accept the challenge. But he will not."
The Associated Press reported Monday that U.S. intelligence officials said Putin was projecting anger, frustration at his military's failures, and a willingness to cause even more violence and destruction in Ukraine more than two weeks into a war he expected to dominate in two days.
Musk on Sunday said his companies were facing significant inflationary pressure in raw materials and logistics. He retweeted an article saying the Ukraine-Russia conflict sent commodity prices to their highest levels since 2008.
Tesla Inc will give Ukrainian employees asked to defend their country at least three months of pay, CNBC reported Wednesday, citing an e-mail by the EV maker to its employees in Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week he had spoken to Musk and announced the country would receive more of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet terminals.
Earlier this month, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos said that Russia no longer would send rocket engines to the U.S. in response to sanctions. "Let them fly on something else, their broomsticks. I don't know what," Dmitry Rogozin said, Business Insider reported.
SpaceX's launch director responded Wednesday as the company launched Starlink satellites. "Time to let the American broomstick fly and hear the sounds of freedom," the launch director said on SpaceX's livestream just before the Falcon 9 rocket sent 48 satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, Business Insider reported.
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