Days after challenging Russian President Vladimir Putin to a combat with Ukraine at stake, Elon Musk has now changed his name on Twitter to ‘Elona Musk.’ The change is in a sarcastic response to Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic.

Kadyrov, a close ally to the Kremlin and known for his macho image, had put out a message on Telegram for the Tesla CEO where he dared Musk to give up his “effeminate” side and “pump those muscles” if he wants to fight Vladimir Putin.

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He wrote: “Don’t measure your strength against Putin. You’re in two completely different leagues…..you’ll need to pump up those muscles in order to change from the gentle (effeminate) Elona into the brutal Elon you need to be.”

He said Vladimir Putin will feel weak to beat the hell out of Musk and went on to present a mocking offer of combat training at three centres in Chechen Republic to the Tesla CEO.

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“You will return from the Chechen Republic a completely different person, Elona, that is, Elon,” he wrote.

Telegram post by Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Chechen Republic! pic.twitter.com/UyByR9kywq

— Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2022

Musk was quick to respond and tweeted a screenshot of the Telegram message thanking the Chechen leader for the offer. Musk sarcastically added that the training would give him an unfair advantage over Putin.

He added that if Putin is afraid to fight, then he will only use his left hand even when he is not left-handed. He signed off as ‘Elona’ and his Twitter username has been the same ever since.

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(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Mar 16, 2022 6:52 PM IST