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.

A Generic Photo of Elon Musk.

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.

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.”