'If I win....': Elon Musk accepts Venezuelan president's challenge for a 'real fight'

Elon Musk has agreed to throw down with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on national television. The SpaceX and Tesla chief, who also owns the social network X, responded to Maduro's challenge to fight with a simple "I accept,". This is not the first time Elon Musk has agreed to fight. Instead, he had challenged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the past but that fight did not come to fruition. 

The bad blood between Musk and Maduro is not just simple tech rivalry. It has been simmering amid the chaos in Caracas. Maduro's recent election win is shrouded in controversy. If the fight happens, it will be a classic showdown: Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, versus Maduro, the socialist leader who climbed from being a bus driver to president of an oil-rich but economically crippled nation.

Maduro has pointed fingers at Musk, accusing him of masterminding cyber-attacks on Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE). The CNE's declaration of Maduro as the election winner, without providing hard data, has only fueled the fire.

In response to Musk's online jabs, Maduro didn't hold back. "Social media creates a virtual reality, and who controls the virtual reality? Our new archenemy, the famous Elon Musk," Maduro fired back. "Do you want to fight? Let's do it. Elon Musk, I'm ready," he declared.

Musk, never one to back down, took to X and replied to the hype. He even took a playful jab at Mark Zuckerberg, calling him a "little fella" compared to Maduro. "Maduro is a big guy himself and probably knows how to fight, so this would be a real fight. Zuck is a little fella, so that would be a short fight lol," Musk quipped.

Musk upped the ante with a bold wager: "If I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela. If he wins, I give him a free ride to Mars."

JUST IN: Elon Musk accepts Venezuelan Dictator Nicolás Maduro's challenge to a fight.

Just when you thought 2024 couldn't get any crazier.

Maduro: "Elon Musk. Whoever messes with me, dries up. Whoever messes with Venezuela dries up, Elon Musk.

You want to fight? Let's have… pic.twitter.com/rqvCphOsuJ

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 31, 2024

Musk has been vocal about his disdain for Maduro, labelling him a "dictator" and the election a "travesty." He even shared a 2020 DEA announcement about criminal charges against Maduro for drug trafficking, complete with a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

If I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela.

If he wins, I give him a free ride to Mars.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 31, 2024

Maduro, not one to back down, accused Musk of plotting an invasion. "He wants to come here with his guns and an army to invade Venezuela. Elon Musk, good thing you showed your face because we knew you were behind it all! With your money and your satellites," Maduro fumed.

Musk further said: "An ass knows more than Maduro." He later offered a sarcastic apology: "Sorry to have compared the poor ass to Maduro. That was an insult to the animal kingdom."