If this whole billionaire businessman thing doesn’t work out for Elon Musk, he seems to have a budding future in combat sports.
As Musk continues to try to lure Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg into a cage match, another potential contender is challenging Musk to a fight: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The recently reelected politician, who is facing allegations that he cheated his way back into office, made the challenge Monday in a truly bonkers series of accusations. Maduro also labeled Musk as his “archenemy.”
“Social media creates a virtual reality, and who controls the virtual reality? Our new archenemy, the famous Elon Musk,” Maduro said. “Do you want to fight? Let’s do it. Elon Musk, I’m ready. I’m not afraid of you, Elon Musk. Let’s fight, wherever you want.”
Maduro also claimed that Musk wanted to invade Venezuela with his “space rockets.”
Illegitimate Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who very likely won reelection through fraud, is declaring war on Elon Musk, whom he calls his "arch-enemy." He claims Elon Musk wants to invade Venezuela with his space rockets. pic.twitter.com/4t1GkKhimz
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 29, 2024
The comments followed Musk criticizing Maduro after the election results were announced, labeling him a “dictator” and accusing him of “major election fraud.”
Maduro secured 51% of the vote in Venezuela’s elections, according to the National Electoral Council. Opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez received 44% of the votes, the council says. The results, which came after a long delay, have been disputed by the opposition, which has called on the military to intervene. (Pre-election polls showed Gonzalez leading by a wide margin.)
Maduro has been in office since 2013. In that time, the country has seen a staggering economic collapse and more than 8 million citizens leaving.
“Quite frankly, we have serious concerns that the result as announced does not reflect the will and the votes of the Venezuelan people,” White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters on Monday.
Maduro’s challenge comes just days after Musk once again challenged Zuckerberg to a fight. Leaving Capitol Hill last Thursday, where he attended Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech as an invited guest, Musk told reporters, “I’ll fight Zuckerberg anyplace, anytime, any rules.”
Zuckerberg did not appear eager to take the bait, replying on Threads: “Are we really doing this again?”