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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has challenged Elon Musk to a fight on national television following Musk’s allegations of election fraud. After both Maduro and his opponent claimed victory in Venezuela’s presidential election, Musk accused Maduro of “major election fraud” on X.
“Maduro, leave! Venezuelans chose to end the communist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. The data announce a crushing victory of the opposition, and the world is waiting for you to recognize the defeat after years of socialism, misery, decadence, and death,” Musk wrote in a second post.
Musk’s posts drew a response from Maduro, who called Musk a threat to Venezuela and bizarrely challenged him to a televised fight, according to the Anadolu Agency. “Social media creates a virtual reality, and who controls the virtual reality? Our new archenemy, the famous Elon Musk,” Maduro said. “Do you want to fight? Let’s do it. Elon Musk, I’m ready.”
He added, “I’m not afraid of you, Elon Musk. Let’s fight, wherever you want.”
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, loyal to Maduro and the ruling party, declared Maduro the winner of Sunday’s election with 51% of the vote, despite exit polls indicating an opposition win. The electoral authority reported opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 44% of the vote.
The Carter Center, unable to verify the election results, cited a “complete lack of transparency” and a failure to provide individual polling tallies. “The electoral authority’s failure to announce disaggregated results by polling station constitutes a serious breach of electoral principles,” the Carter Center stated.
The Atlanta-based group, with a technical mission of 17 experts in four Venezuelan cities, noted that the election did not meet international standards and “cannot be considered democratic.” Despite long-standing military support for Maduro, many opposition leaders now dispute the election’s results.
Musk has previously provoked other global figures. He has claimed he could defeat Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg in a fight, reigniting the rivalry recently. Musk told a reporter, “I’ll fight Zuckerberg any place, any time, any rules,” but Zuckerberg seemed reluctant, writing on Threads, “Are we really doing this again?”
Talks of a charity cage match between the two were halted last August when Musk revealed he might need surgery for a back injury from a past sumo wrestling bout. Zuckerberg eventually grew tired of the delays, stating, “We can all agree Elon isn’t serious and it’s time to move on.”
