- Elon Musk is accused by Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov of remotely disabling a Tesla Cybertruck on the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war.
- Kadyrov, known as ‘Putin’s attack dog,’ claims the Cybertruck was a gift from Musk, which Musk vehemently denies, sparking a public feud.
- Despite the alleged shutdown, Kadyrov says he has two more operational Cybertrucks in Ukraine, adding to the controversy surrounding Tesla’s innovative vehicle.
From withstanding experimental arrows to enduring savage online criticism, Tesla’s Cybertruck has weathered a storm of attention since its inception.
But now the futuristic behemoth from the world’s best-selling electric car brand faces its most explosive controversy yet: allegations from a Russian warlord that CEO Elon Musk remotely disabled the futuristic vehicle… while it was deployed on the frontlines of the Ukraine conflict.
Bad Behaviour?
Musk has certainly faced his fair share of controversies—everything from rumoured ketamine use to revelations of a ‘demon mode‘— but the idea that he could shut down a vehicle from thousands of miles away is new territory, and perhaps his biggest mistake yet.
This impossible claim, right out of the pages of a techno-thriller, has catapulted this angular, stainless steel goliath from the roads of automotive innovation to centre stage in a high-stakes international drama. At the heart of this emerging tale is none other than Ramzan Kadyrov, the hard-fisted ruler of Russia’s Chechnya region (and staunch Vladimir Putin ally) who has hurled a bombshell accusation at the mysterious technology mogul.
“Elon Musk behaved badly. He gives expensive gifts from the bottom of his heart and then remotely disconnects them. That’s not manly. How could you do that, Elon?”
Kadyrov announced in a post via Telegram.
Described by many as ‘Putin’s attack dog,’ one of Russia’s most feared supporters, Kadyrov has led the Chechen Republic since 2007. His tenure has been characterised by brutal methods and steadfast devotion to Putin, to such a great extent that he called for the use of low-yield nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
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This high-stakes drama began in August, when Kadyrov, boasting a video of himself cruising near his presidential palace in what he claimed was a gift from Musk, appeared with a massive machine gun on the vehicle, making the scene feel straight out of a dystopian blockbuster.
For his part, however, Musk brusquely denies he gave the vehicle to Kadyrov.
‘Are you seriously so retarded that you think I donated a Cybertruck to a Russian general?’
Adding more drama to this technological game of tug-of-war, Kadyrov said he owns two more Cybertrucks, both running in Ukraine. “The remote shutdown did not affect these vehicles. They are operating normally, without any failures,” he said, hinting at the thought that the alleged sabotage affected only the first truck.
A Technical Glitch or Musk’s Intervention?
The situation raises eyebrows if Kadyrov does indeed have two more Cybertrucks: Why weren’t those vehicles also disabled, assuming Musk had the capability to do so?
While the warlord is enamoured with the truck’s performance, many issues were reported by owners of Cybertrucks, suggesting that Kadyrov’s malfunction could be due to a technical fault rather than some deliberate act by the Tesla CEO himself. It means that the Chechen leader, probably not knowing the failure of the car he was driving, blamed Musk for it.
Cybertruck Story
Set against the Cybertruck’s long, turbulent path from prototype to production, after its unveiling in 2019, the vehicle captured the public imagination, garnering an astonishing 2 million reservations by December 2023. Its path into production has been pockmarked with various potholes: from experimental demonstrations of its so-called indestructibility to questions over its consistency out on the road.
By June 2024, it had delivered over 11,600 Cybertrucks, a small fraction of its initial reservations. Industry analysts estimate about 30 to 40% of those reservations will convert to sales. This Botany Bay-style vehicle sports a stainless steel exoskeleton, has an estimated range of 500 miles, and comes equipped with advanced autonomous driving capabilities—all reasons for making it quite popular.
Notwithstanding these impressive statistics, the Cybertruck doesn’t bear immunity to scrutiny as some critics label its design controversial and its performance spotty.
