American billionaire Elon Musk has ridiculed journalist and author Seth Abramson, who claimed that the Tesla CEO should be held accountable for collusion with Russia.
Abramson, who rose to prominence in the US during the presidency of Donald Trump when he extensively researched supposed links between Trump and Russia, targeted Musk on Saturday.
He was reacting to claims by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov that the Tesla CEO gave him a Cybertruck, which he weaponized and intends to send to the Russian forces on the front lines of the Ukraine conflict.
“Musk is providing vehicles ready for military use to sanctioned enemies of America? Why isn’t this the biggest story in America today?” Abramson asked on X (formerly Twitter). “Why is West Point coddling a man working openly against the US?”
“Are you seriously so retarded that you think I donated a Cybertruck to a Russian general?” Musk responded. “Yet another example of how much the legacy media lies.”
Earlier in the week, Musk delivered a speech to graduating West Point cadets, which is why Abramson called out the military school.
The Tesla Cybertruck is a highly-stylized electric vehicle with an extra-durable exterior, but was never designed for military use and is available on the market starting at over $200,000.
Kadyrov drove the vehicle around Grozny, the capital of the southern Russian republic of Chechnya, according to a video he published on Saturday. It had a machine gun on a mount installed in the cargo bed. Kadyrov posed at the gunner position, wearing ammo belts for dramatic effect.
“Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny; I will welcome you as my dearest guest!” the Chechen leader said.
The original complaint against Musk that triggered Abramson’s accusations came from former Ukrainian MP Anton Gerashchenko, who enjoys a sizeable English-speaking following on X.
Musk has been targeted by Ukrainian officials and public figures since late 2022, when he began to openly question Kiev’s military strategy in the conflict with Russia and to call for concessions for the sake of peace.