Russia’s Kadyrov equips Tesla truck with machinegun for war

The leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, published a video on Saturday of himself driving a Tesla Cybertruck with what looked like a machinegun mounted on top, saying he would send it to the Ukraine conflict zone.

Kadyrov, known for extravagant publicity stunts, heaped praise on both the vehicle and Tesla Motors chief executive Elon Musk on the Telegram messaging app, calling him the “strongest genius of modern times” and inviting Musk to Chechnya.

“We… await your future products that will help us finish the special military operation,” Kadyrov wrote, using the official term by which Russia describes its war in Ukraine.

Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya with an iron fist for over 17 years, is a vocal ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and says he has deployed thousands of troops to help the Kremlin with its Ukraine offensive.

The 47-year-old Chechen leader could be seen behind the wheel of the truck as he drove in the regional capital Grozny, a video posted on his Telegram channel showed.

A machine gun appeared to be fixed atop the vehicle’s roof.

“I express my sincere gratitude to Elon Musk. This is, of course, the strongest genius of our time and a specialist. A great man,” Kadyrov said in a post accompanying the video, inviting Musk to visit him in Russia.

“Based on such excellent characteristics, the Cybertruck will soon be sent to the area of the special military operation, where it will be in demand in the appropriate conditions,” he added, referring to the Kremlin’s name for its Ukraine offensive.

The Cybertruck is an electric pick-up truck that was first unveiled by US carmaker Tesla in 2019 before going into production last year.