Ukraine conflict: Tesla boss Elon Musk challenges Vladimir Putin to ‘single combat’ for Ukraine

Billionaire Elon Musk has challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “single combat”, with the “stakes” being Ukraine.

With Mr Putin’s name written in Russian and Ukraine written in Ukrainian, the Tesla chief executive tweeted: “I hereby challenge (Vladimir Putin) to single combat.

“Stakes are (Ukraine).”

Mr Musk tagged the Kremlin in a follow-up tweet.

“Do you agree to this fight?” he asked in Russian.

Mr Musk’s challenge to Mr Putin is one of several posts he has shared on the war in Ukraine.

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A video shared on March 5 showed him speaking directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The same day, he tweeted: “Hold strong Ukraine.”

He added: “And also my sympathies to the great people of Russia, who do not want this.”

Following Russia’s invasion on February 24, Mr Musk gave Ukraine access to SpaceX’s satellite-internet system Starlink – a system of some 2,000 satellites designed to bring web access to underserved areas of the world.

Mr Zelensky thanked Mr Musk for that support, tweeting: “I’m grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds.”