Putin's warlord crony makes wild claim that Elon Musk has 'turned off' his Cybertruck

A Vladimir Putin warlord crony in Chechnya has claimed that Elon Musk has switched off his Tesla Cybertruck, which he fitted with machine guns, when he sent it to the frontline with Ukraine

A Chechan warlord crony of Vladimir Putin claimed that Elon Musk switched off a Tesla Cybertruck fitted with machine guns when he sent it to the frontline in Ukraine.

Ramzan Kadyrov, 47, was pictured driving the Cybertruck, which he alleged had been gifted to him by Musk and that he strapped guns to the top. Kadyrov appeared to be using the Tesla by the presidential palace in the Chechen capital Grozny, on August 17.

Musk later denied making any such gift, calling it a lie and Kadyrov has claimed that the American billionaire disabled the Cybertruck when he sent it to war.

“Elon Musk acted ugly. He gives expensive gifts from the heart, and then remotely turns them off," wildly claimed Kadyrov on social media. "You probably remember his gift - the Cybertruck, which we equipped with a machine gun and sent to the SVO ( Special Military Operation' zone which is what Russia calls its war in Ukraine).

“The vehicle coped with combat missions perfectly. Demonstrated manoeuvrability and good protection for the crew. So, recently Musk remotely turned off the Cybertruck. This is not manly. We had to tow the iron horse. How is that possible, Elon? Is that how it is done?”

And now the Western-sanctioned Kadyrov, Russia’s richest regional leader and a colonel-general in Putin’s national guard, claims that he foiled Musk’s plan by sending two new Tesla Cybertrucks to the frontline.

"Two more Cybertrucks are sent to the [war] zone,” he posted on Telegram. They were seen driving on a dirt track, with guns on top and images also showed troops firing at drones but it is not clear what were the locations where this took place. He also stated: “Western equipment is doing an excellent job against their own Western Ukro-NATOvites. Mobility, convenience, manoeuvrability - such qualities of an electric vehicle are in great demand here.

“They have not been affected by the remote shutdown. The vehicles are running smoothly and without fail. You can't think of a better advert for Cybertruck. We know how they should be used.” Military analysts have expressed disbelief that the Cybertruck has any frontline role in Putin’s war, and suggest his stunt is to keep him prominent on social media.