Billionaire mogul Elon Musk has accepted Venezuela’s disputed President Nicolas Maduro’s invitation to fight him on national TV.
The recently reelected politician, who faces accusations of fixing the election, pelted the challenge at Musk on Monday in a speech full of fury, calling the Tesla CEO 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’s comments quickly went viral, with several X accounts tagging Musk in the clip and asking if he would rise to Maduro’s challenge. In response to one of the tweets, Musk replied, “I accept.”
The billionaire later added that Maduro would “chicken out” of the fight.
Musk drew Maduro’s ire after condemning his reelection results, accusing him of “major election fraud” and labeling him a “dictator” on X.
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 said, though pre-election polls showed him leading by a wide margin. The results have been disputed by the opposition, which has called on the military to intervene.
Musk has previously accepted high-profile fights. He became ambivalent about a cage match with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg after weeks of flirting with the idea. Musk claimed he had to call off the fight last summer because he needed back surgery, but he has recently said he would fight Zuckerberg “anyplace, anytime, any rules.”
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.