If there was still any lingering doubt that 2024 is the weirdest timeline, a feud that recently sparked online between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro has dispelled it.
Musk took to X to outspokenly challenge Maduro’s recent election victory against opposition leader Edmundo González, which many countries, including the United States, have deemed as rigged. Without mincing words, Musk posted over 50 tweets denouncing Maduro as a “dictator” who adulterated the election results.
The tech mogul went so far as to compare Maduro to a donkey but then retracted his words — remarking in Spanish that such a comparison was an insult to the animal.
At some point, Maduro had enough of being publicly bashed by Musk on social media and decided to respond to the affront with all the poise and grace one would expect of a political leader who many argue has all the makings of a dictator.
Make it happen
Nicolás Maduro addressed Elon Musk’s provocations with the equivalent of “let’s take it outside.” After accepting the challenge, Musk wrote on X: “He will chicken out.”
The stakes are nothing to laugh at either. Musk proposed that, if he won, Maduro would have to resign, and if the President won, the billionaire would give him a free trip to Mars.
When it comes to financial repercussions, Musk has no skin in the game in Venezuela. There are no Tesla factories in the South American country, neither is SpaceX’s Starlink internet service available for Venezuelans.
As much as this unlikely feud has entertained them, many netizens cannot help but feel that such unpredictable viral moments are proof that humanity is actually stuck in the Matrix. “Another fine day in the simulation,” commented an X user. “Is life even real at this point,” questioned another netizen on TikTok.
This is not the first physical fight Musk claimed he was ready to partake in. The SpaceX CEO once said he would be prepared to take on Russian President Vladimir Putin in a brawl. Another hyped-up potential wrestling match that caused much chatter on the Internet was when Mark Zuckerberg agreed to fight Musk in a cage fight.
Although chances may be slim, just these two potential matchups that never came to fruition, let’s keep our fingers crossed that neither Musk nor Maduro were bluffing and will indeed face off in an epic confrontation for the world to witness.