Weaponised Tesla Cybertruck remotely disabled in battlefield – UPDATE

UPDATE, Monday 23 September 2024: A Tesla Cybertruck pick-up fitted with a heavy machine gun in the tub has been remotely disabled while being used by Russian armed forces on the battlefield against Ukraine.

According to a report from website Carscoops, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov took to social media to complain about the electric Cybertruck being shut down by Tesla.

"Elon Musk behaved badly," Kadyrov said online, claiming the actions were "not manly".

"He gives expensive gifts from the heart and then remotely disconnects them."

However, Musk denied having any involvement in supplying Chechnya with the Cybertruck, with no evidence to support the claim Musk provided the vehicle as a gift.

According to Kadyrov, the vehicle had to be towed from the battlefield after it was disabled remotely.

Our original story continues unchanged below.

Tuesday 20 August 2024: Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been filmed driving a Tesla Cybertruck, with what appears to be a 12.7mm heavy machine gun mounted above the cabin.

As reported by news outlet AP, the president of Chechnya – a republic within the Russian Federation – released a video on social media driving the electric pick-up, praising the Cybertruck and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk.

"I express my sincere gratitude to Elon Musk," Kadyrov wrote in a post accompanying the video, suggesting the vehicle was a gift from Musk.

"This is, of course, the strongest genius of our time and a specialist. A great man."

However, Musk took to his own social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to deny supplying the Cybertruck to Kadyrov – a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a colonel general in the Russian army.

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"Are you seriously so retarded that you think I donated a Cybertruck to a Russian general?" Musk wrote on X, adding "That’s amazing" with crying-laughing emojis.

The United States has placed sanctions on Kadyrov for numerous alleged human rights abuses – meaning Musk could face prison time if he was found to have supplied the US-built pick-up to the Chechen leader.

In the video, Kadyrov said the Cybertruck would be donated to frontline Russian troops in Ukraine.

"And, of course, we’re waiting for [Musk's] new developments that will help us finish our special military operation [in Ukraine]," he said.

Musk claimed the Cybertruck was bulletproof when it was launched, however Tesla says the vehicle can only withstand subsonic bullets – less common rounds which move at a much lower velocity than normal ammunition.