Elon Musk has
changed his name to Elona on Twitter after the leader of the Chechen Republic said
that the tech billionaire needed to “pump up those muscles in order to change
from the gentle Elona into the brutal Elon.” Musk, who owns SpaceX and Tesla,
shared a screenshot of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s Telegram post on Twitter
while making the name change.

Kadyrov, a
strongman head of state according to Western opinion who is close to Russian
President Vladimir Putin, slammed the American billionaire after Musk
challenged Putin to a wrestling match to stop the Ukraine war.

“Elon Musk, a word
of advice. Don’t measure your strength against that of Putin. Vladimir
Vladimirovich will look unsportsmanlike when he beats the hell of out of you, a
much weaker opponent,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram.

He further
suggested that Musk train at the Russian Special Forces University, the Akhmat
Fight Club and the Chechen State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company in
order to get ready to fight Putin.

Also Read | Mortal combat: Musk vs Putin battle of might over Ukraine’s freedom

To this, the
50-year-old Musk responded: “Thank you for the offer, but such excellent
training would give me too much of an advantage,” and changed his name on
Twitter to Elona Musk. “Is he afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left
hand and I am not even left-handed.”

Elon Musk has
vocally supported Ukraine’s cause on the face of Russian aggression. He has
been in touch with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. On March 14, Musk tweeted,
“I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat. Stakes are Ukraine.”

To this, the
director of Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin responded, “You,
little devil, are still young,” quoting from Alexander Pushkin’s “The Tale of
the Priest and of His Workman Balda.” “You are weak to compete with me; it
would only be a waste of time. Overtake my brother first,” Rogozin added.

Refusing to be put
down, Musk retorted: “I see you are a tough negotiator! Ok, you can have 10%
more pay per view money.” He also tweeted an image of President Vladimir Putin
riding a beer and Elon Musk aiming a fire thrower at him.