Recently, SpaceX and Tesla entrepreneur Elon Musk threw followers for a loop when he changed his Twitter name to “Elona.”
The origin of this change comes from an ongoing social media saga. The latest chapter started when Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, posted a lengthy message to Musk wherein he mocks the entrepreneur. One such insult is referring to Musk as “Elona.” Instead of taking offense, Musk updated his profile to reflect the nickname–likely not what Kadyrov had in mind.
“Elon Musk, a word of advice: Don’t measure your strength against that of Putin’s,” wrote Kadyrov. “You’re in two completely different leagues. And it’s not even about martial arts or judo, for example. Are you in the red corner of the boxing ring, a businessman and Twitter user; and Putin, in blue, a world politician and strategist, who inspires awe in the West and in the US?”
Kadyrov also compared the respective strengths of Musk and Putin. He concludes that the Russian president would look “unsportsmanlike” by beating the apparently weaker Musk.
Musk then doubled down. The businessman tweeted in response: “Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage. If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed.”
Of course, Musk cheekily signed off with the name “Elona.”
Elon Musk Offers to Fight Vladimir Putin
This whole back and forth started when Musk challenged Putin to a fight. Of course, he did this in response to the ongoing Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
“I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat. Stakes are Ukraine,” Musk initially tweeted. “Do you agree to this fight?”
This is hardly the last shot he’s fired at the Russian government. After Dmitry Rogozin, leader of Russia’s space agency, halted exports of rocket engines to the United States. He did this in protest of the sanctions meant to negatively impact the Russian economy. Rogozin was reported to say: “Let them fly on something else, their broomsticks. I don’t know what.”
Of course, Musk would not let that slide. He responded: “Time to let the American broomstick fly and hear the sounds of freedom.”
However, Musk has done more than talk about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. In fact, the SpaceX director is taking two major actions in support of the country. Firstly, he is continuing to pay Ukrainian Tesla employees when are drafted into the war effort. Additionally, Musk sent power adapters for car cigarette lighters, solar/battery packs and generators. These actions got him a shoutout from Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, who wrote: “[Elon Musk] keeps his word! Thank you for supporting Ukraine and peace in the entire world!”
