Just when it was thought that the year 2024 could not get any crazier, now the world is gearing up for a fight between Tesla and X owner Elon Musk and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who won a recent controversial election. Musk, who accused Maduro of "major election fraud", accepted Maduro's challenge of a fight amid a political crisis in Venezuela.
The heated exchange between the two began as Musk slammed Maduro's policies, calling him a "dictator" and "travesty" after the recent election results. Notably, Maduro won his third presidential term in Venezuela by defeating opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, despite exit polls predicting an opposition victory. The country's National Electoral Council (CNE) has not released a detailed vote breakdown to back the results in favour of Maduro, despite calls from opposition and foreign countries.
"Maduro, leave! Venezuelans chose to end the communist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro. The data announce a crushing victory of the opposition, and the world is waiting for you to recognize the defeat after years of socialism, misery, decadence and death," Musk said in a post.
Venezuela President challenges Musk to 'fight'
Several posts by Musk criticising Maduro caught the attention of the Venezuelan President. Following his comments, Maduro said, "Social media creates a virtual reality, and who controls the virtual reality? Our new archenemy, the famous Elon Musk," he began his speech. 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."
On Wednesday, Musk responded to a tweet about the confrontation, saying, "I accept", sparking a wave of reactions on the social media platform. Several netizens engaged in discussions about who would prevail in the bizarre contest, with Musk himself setting the terms and conditions of the fight.
In another tweet, the Tesla CEO said Maduro "will chicken out" of the fight and promised to "carry him to Gitmo on a donkey". In another tweet, Musk said if Maduro wins, he will provide him a free ride to Mars, but he would have to resign as "dictator of Venezuela" if he lost the fight.
Why is Musk at odds with Maduro?
The feud between Musk and Maduro has been boiling for some time in the midst of a political crisis in Caracas. Musk is a staunch ultra-capitalist and supporter of former US President Donald Trump, who opposes Maduro's socialist policies in the economically struggling country. Maduro has accused Musk of orchestrating attacks against Venezuela, including an alleged "computer hacking" at the National Electoral Council (CNE).
"He wants to control the world, he already controls Argentina… You want to fight? Elon Musk, I am ready. I am the son of Bolivar and Chavez, I’m not afraid of you, Elon Musk… The people defeated Elon Musk’s bots, we defeated Elon Musk’s bots," said Maduro. In response, Musk retorted, "An ass knows more than Maduro.” Later, the billionaire added: “Sorry to have compared the poor ass to Maduro. That was an insult to the animal kingdom.”
Political crisis in Caracas
The South American country's electoral authority declared that Maduro had won a third term with 51 per cent of votes to extend a quarter-century of socialist rule. However, the opposition, which considers the election body to be in the pocket of a dictatorial government, says its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had more than twice as many votes as Maduro based on the 90 per cent of vote tallies it has been able to access.
The US-based Carter Center, which observed the vote, said in a statement late on Tuesday the election "did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic." The electoral authority's failure to publish disaggregated results amounts to a "serious breach," it added.
Meanwhile, Maduro has asked the Supreme Court to audit the results of the presidential vote as pressure climbs by independent observers. However, the Supreme Court is closely aligned with his government; federal officials propose the court's justices and they are ratified by the National Assembly, which is dominated by Maduro sympathisers.
ALSO READ | Massive protests engulf Venezuela after Nicolas Maduro's win in 'undemocratic' election, 11 killed | WATCH
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