Chechen leader and Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov accuses Elon Musk of disabling his Tesla Cybertruck with a machine gun
A Chechen warlord who claimed Elon Musk gifted him a Cybertruck accused the Tesla CEO on Thursday of “remotely” disabling the machine-gun-mounted vehicle that needed to be towed off the Russian battlefield.
Ramzan Kadyrov, 47, the ruthless president of Russia's Chechnya region, claimed his Cybertruck stopped working after revealing it had been sent to the Northern Military District for use by Russian troops in the war against Ukraine.
“Elon Musk behaved badly,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram, according to Political“He gives expensive gifts from the bottom of his heart and then disconnects them from a distance.”
Kadyrov said the Cybertruck, first unveiled to the public in 2023, performed “admirably” in combat before reportedly being disabled on the front lines.
“That's not like a man,” Kadyrov added. “How could you do that, Elon?”
He later revealed that he sent two more Cybertrucks into combat on Friday.
In August, Kadyrov posted a video of himself driving near his presidential palace in the electric truck-turned-combat vehicle after claiming the tech billionaire had gifted it to him.
Kadyrov praised the Cybertruck, calling it “without a doubt one of the best cars in the world” and invited Musk to Chechnya.
Musk, however, denied having given the trip to Russian President Vladimir Putin's staunch ally.
“Are you really that dumb that you think I donated a Cybertruck to a Russian general?” Musk answered to a video of the warlord riding in the electric truck on his social media platform X.
Musk said it was “amazing” that anyone would believe Kadyrov’s baseless claims.
Kadyrov, the son of assassinated Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, has been the leader of the Chechen Republic since 2007, after being nominated by Putin following his father's death.
The Kremlin's outspoken ally is one of Russia's most powerful and feared supporters.
His loyalty to the Russian regime has even earned him the nickname “Putin’s attack dog.”
He has even called for Russia to use low-yield nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
Human rights groups have sharply criticised Kadyrov for allowing serious human rights violations to flourish under his rule.
The United States has imposed financial sanctions against Kadyrov, accusing him of a systematic campaign of repression.
The State Department saying They have “credible information that Kadyrov is responsible for numerous serious human rights violations dating back more than a decade, including torture and extrajudicial executions.”
Kadyrov has reportedly targets “those who dissent, LGBTQI+ people, members of religious and ethnic minority groups” and is prepared to use “retaliation against their relatives.”
The leader has defended himself against criticism, insisting that ironclad authority is necessary to achieve stability.
