Why Elon Musk just changed his Twitter name to 'Elona'
LOS ANGELES - Elon Musk took his squabble with the Kremlin a step further Wednesday by changing his Twitter name to "Elona" after a barb by Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic and close ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kadyrov slammed Musk following his suggestion that he and Putin should engage in "single combat," calling Musk "gentle (effeminate) Elona" and extending an invitation for him to train with Chechen special forces.
Kadyrov said Musk would return from the trip a "completely different person." Musk responded by sharing a translation of Kadyrov’s post and declining Kadyrov's offer.
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"Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage. If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed," Musk tweeted, signing his tweet with the name "Elona."
Musk also changed his Twitter display name to "Elona."
Musk initially challenged Putin to a fight earlier this week as Russia escalated its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, tweeting "stakes are Ukraine."
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, tweeted in response to Musk, referring to him as a "little devil."
"Compete with me weakling; it would only be a waste of time. Overtake my brother first," Rogozin said.
Musk has tweeted about the fight several times. In one post, Musk shared a meme of himself using a Boring Company flamethrower alongside an altered image of a shirtless Putin riding a bear.
"He can even bring his bear," Musk wrote.
While Musk has poked fun at Russian officials on social media, he has also played a role in assisting Ukraine during the invasion. SpaceX provided Starlink internet to Ukrainians to address concerns that they could lose access.
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