Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov invited Tesla CEO Elon Musk to Russia on Saturday after he was photographed sitting in the driver’s seat of the company’s Cybertruck equipped with a machine gun.
A video posted to Kadyrov’s Telegram channel shows the self-described strongman slowly driving a stainless steel Cybertruck before straddling a machine gun mounted on the truck’s bed, which is strapped with an ammunition belt.
In an enthusiastic post, Kadyrov, who rules the Chechen republic within the Russian Federation, described the car as “without a doubt one of the best cars in the world. I have literally fallen in love with it.”
He also said the vehicle would be donated to Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. “No wonder they call it the Cyber Beast,” he said. “I’m sure this beast will bring a lot of benefits to our troops.”
Kadyrov, who is under U.S. sanctions for his role in numerous human rights abuses, said he received the truck from Musk, but that has not been independently confirmed. Tesla did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Kadyrov also used the video clip to invite Musk to visit Chechnya.
“I think the Russian Foreign Ministry would not be averse to such a visit,” he said. “And of course, we are waiting for new developments that will help complete the special military operation (in Ukraine).”
