Pro-Russian Chechen Warlord Accuses Elon Musk's Tesla of 'Remotely Disabling' His Cybertruck Equipped With Machine Gun

A Chechen warlord has criticized Elon Musk for disabling his heartfelt gift. Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, has expressed his disappointment at the Tesla founder's alleged move of "remotely disabling" the Cybertruck he had gifted him, CNN reported. 

In September, Kadyrov came forward and claimed that the Cybertruck equipped with a machine gun was performing well in combat, CNN reported. Kadyrov is an outspoken supporter of Russia in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and was appointed as the Chechen chief by Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

Kadyrov further added in the alleged video that the vehicle will soon be dispatched to Russia’s "special military operation" in Ukraine, CNN reported. Musk immediately denied having sent any combat vehicle to help in Russia's military pursuits. 

Musk wrote on X at that time, "Are you seriously so r******d that you think I donated a Cybertruck to a Russian general?" in response to Kadyrov's claims. Later on, Kadyrov claimed that he had sent three such trucks to the frontline, CNN reported. 

Later in the month, Kadyrov provided an update regarding his Cybertruck plans, CNN reported. He stated that one of the Cybertrucks had been towed from the battlefield. The warlord added, "What Elon Musk did was not nice. He gives expensive gifts from the heart and then remotely switches them off."

In his follow-up updates, the warlord claimed that the other two Cybertrucks are still operational on the battlefield, CNN reported. "The remote shutdown did not affect these vehicles. They are operating normally, without any failures," Kadyrov said on Telegram. "You couldn’t ask for better advertising for the Cybertruck."

Experts do not think the Cybertrucks would be effective on the battlefield, Interesting Engineering reported. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser on the International Security Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel pointed out that areas like Donbas do not have Tesla outlets, and recharging the vehicle would be difficult.