The Tesla Cybertruck was controversial long before it began deliveries late last year, and now an electric pickup truck has fallen into the hands of a Russian warlord and become the latest conflict vehicle of choice.
Outspoken Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov bragged online over the weekend about receiving Tesla Cybertruckequipped with a machine gun on the tray.
While CNN Mr Kadyrov reportedly claimed the Cybertruck was sent to him by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whom he called “the most powerful genius of our time”, the executive took to his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to deny the claim – using language we don’t want to repeat.
Kadyrov said he had received a Tesla Cybertrack from Elon Musk. He promised to send it to a “special military operations” zone and attach a machine gun to it.
“Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny, I will receive you as my dearest guest! I don’t think our Russian Foreign Ministry will… photo.twitter.com/m72fg2G2PU
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 17, 2024
Mr Kadyrov said the Cybertruck – dubbed the flagship three-engine ‘Cyberbeast’ – would be put into service in Ukraine, as conflict continues two-and-a-half years after Russia’s invasion of the neighbouring country.
“Based on such excellent characteristics, the Cybertruck will soon be delivered to the zone of special military operations,” Kadyrov said, according to the report. CNN.
“I am sure this ‘beast’ will bring a lot of benefits to our warriors.”
This is the first time we’ve seen a Tesla used in combat, although it’s unlikely these electric vehicle (EV) specialists will have the same impact in conflict as Toyota’s heavy-duty HiLux and LandCruiser.
These two vehicles have long been used in warfare by forces such as the Taliban, in part due to their high reliability and ability to mount machine guns.
