American billionaire Elon Musk has remotely switched off Ramzan Kadyrov’s Cybertruck, the head of Russia’s Republic of Chechnya claimed on Telegram on Thursday. Kadyrov published a video of himself driving the vehicle around the city of Grozny back in August, while claiming it was a personal gift from the Tesla and SpaceX CEO.
“What Elon Musk did was unbecoming [of him],” Kadyrov wrote on Thursday, claiming that the US entrepreneur first gifted him the car “in good faith” and then “remotely switched it off.” The Chechen leader also stated that the Cybertruck was sent to the frontlines of the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev where it “demonstrated maneuverability and good crew protection.”
The vehicle had to be towed after being deactivated, according to Kadyrov, who called the deactivation an “unmanly” act.
“Why, Elon? What a thing to do!” he wrote.
The Tesla Cybertruck is a highly stylized electric vehicle with an extra-durable exterior – although it was never designed for military use – and is available at over $200,000. Back in August, Kadyrov posed with a machine gun installed in the cargo bed of the vehicle.
Last month’s video led to accusations against Musk first in Ukraine and then in the US. American political pundit and author Seth Abramson, best known for unproven allegations that former President Donald Trump was linked with the Russian government, claimed that Musk was “working openly against the US.”
The billionaire hit back that the claim was “another example of how much the legacy media lies.” He vehemently denied “donating” a Cybertruck to a “Russian general.” Kadyrov later weighed in on the issue by calling on Musk to “pay no heed to backward and ignorant people and the corrupt media.” He also thanked the entrepreneur for other products that “help us a lot,” including the Starlink satellite internet system.
Starlink, however, stated in February that it “is not active in Russia, meaning the service will not work in that country.” The satellite internet system had become a crucial element of Ukrainian military logistics in the conflict with Russia but it reportedly had certain geographic limitations. Musk himself had previously said that those restrictions prevented Kiev from using it to launch long-range drone strikes on Russian targets.