Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's video on social media in which he challenged the tech billionaire to a fight.
In a post on his social media platform X, Musk, 53, wrote: “I do.”
The post came in response to a video showing Maduro, 61, holding a cellphone while claiming the SpaceX owner wants to invade Venezuela with his space rockets and challenging him to a fight.
In the video, Maduro said: “Elon Musk, you are desperate. You are out of control. Get a grip or you will fail like these right-wing American politicians.”
“Elon Musk, whoever messes with me dries up. Whoever messes with Venezuela dries up, Elon Musk. Do you want to fight? Let's fight.”
He added: “If you want it, I want it, Elon Musk. Just tell me where.”
The challenge follows Maduro's victory in the country's presidential election after obtaining more than 50% of the votes, although the opposition maintains that the results are not accurate.
Musk shared videos of Venezuelans tearing down images of Maduro and knocking down statues of Hugo Chavez.
Maduro said: “Social media creates a virtual reality, and who controls virtual reality? Our new arch-enemy, the famous Elon Musk.”
Musk had previously challenged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a fight that never happened despite generating quite a stir.
Social media erupted after news broke that Musk had accepted Maduro's challenge, with one user writing: “My money is on Elon. He's an imposing figure and has the mentality of a honey badger.”
“Maduro is a big guy and probably knows how to fight, so this would be a real fight. Zuck is a small guy, so it would be a short fight, lol,” Musk replied.
Another user asked who would win the fight between Maduro and Musk. The tech mogul replied: “If I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela. If he wins, I'll give him a free trip to Mars.”
