Elon Musk is challenging President Vladimir Putin to a fight over Ukraine

Elon Musk is getting quite involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

In an attempt to settle matters quickly, he has challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to combat. To make sure nothing is lost in translation, he wrote some bits in Russian.

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I hereby challenge
Владимир Путин
to single combat

Stakes are Україна

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022

To make sure the message reaches Putin, he even tagged the official handle of the President of Russia. 

Support for Ukraine

It is no secret that through his companies, Elon Musk has tried everything possible to help Ukraine. Hours after the government's call for help, Musk's SpaceX began Starlink operations in Ukraine. Last week an internal email thanked Tesla employees for their contributions in getting these services started in the region. Tesla also announced that it will pay its employees for three months if they are called to fight the invasion. 

While other globally known companies have withdrawn services from Russia, they haven't directly supported Ukraine. Musk is now going a step further and challenging Putin to a duel.

Winning fans back home?

Although he was the one to throw the challenge, Musk didn't really specify how this single duel would be fought. It is unlikely that somebody from the Russian Federation is actually going to get into a Twitter thread with Musk to set up the time, date, and other details for the combat.  

Since the original tweet, Musk has engaged with Twitterati to reiterate that he very much means what he has said. 

If Putin could so easily humiliate the west, then he would accept the challenge.

But he will not.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022

Somebody also needs to remind Musk that since the invasion of Ukraine began, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have been blocked in Russia. 

So, Musk's tweet seems more likely to boost his image among people back home. By portraying himself as the man who is willing to defend the freedom of another nation, Musk adds to his popularity back home. 

The most important question though is what makes Musk think that he can wager Ukraine in single combat?

This was a developing story and updated periodically.