Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has challenged Elon Musk to a fight after the tech mogul labelled him a dictator and said the country’s recent polls were fraudulent.
The results released by the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) on Sunday showed Maduro as the winner of the election.
The CNE said with 80 percent of ballots counted, Maduro had 51 percent of the vote, while Edmundo Gonzalez, his main rival, got 44 percent.
But the opposition party rejected the results, saying records it received showed that Gonzalez, its candidate, garnered 70 percent of the vote and is the rightful president-elect.
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The United States and multiple global leaders, including nine other Latin American countries also cited concerns about the election, while Panama suspended diplomatic relations with Venezuela pending a full review of the results.
Trailing the condemnations, Musk said Venezuelans voted “overwhelmingly” for Gonzalez.
The Tesla chief executive officer (CEO) has also consistently posted messages bashing the poll and calling it a “major election fraud”.
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Following Musk’s posts, Maduro responded on national television, challenging him to a fight.
The president accused Musk of intending to invade Venezuela with his rockets and army.
“Social media creates a virtual reality, and who controls the virtual reality? Our new archenemy, the famous Elon Musk,” Maduro said on Monday.
“Whoever messes with me, dries up. Whoever messes with Venezuela dries up. You want to fight? Let’s have it, Elon Musk. I am ready, I am not afraid of you. Let’s go at it, wherever you want… just say where.”
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In a reply on Wednesday, the tech mogul accepted the challenge.
“If I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela. If he wins, I give him a free ride to Mars,” he said.
Musk added that Maduro would chicken out of the fight.
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