Venezuelan President Maduro challenges 'arch-enemy' Elon Musk to a fight
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, who skeptics suggest cheated his way to winning the country’s presidential election on Sunday after securing over 50% of the vote, declared war on Tesla, X and Space X CEO Elon Musk, calling him his "arch-enemy."
"Social media creates a virtual reality, and who controls the virtual reality? Our new archenemy, the famous Elon Musk," Maduro stated.
"Do you want to fight? Let's do it. Elon Musk, I'm ready. I’m not afraid of you, Elon Musk. Let's fight, wherever you want."
In a video Monday, Maduro was seen holding a cellphone as he declared war on Musk, alleging Musk wants to invade Venezuela with his space rockets.
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Musk shared the video on his social media platform X, saying, "el burro sabe mas que Maduro," or, "The donkey knows more than Maduro."
The billionaire also shared a video of people tearing down a billboard image of Maduro.
"The people of Venezuela have had enough of this clown," Musk wrote.
Musk continued to reply to posts about the likely rigged election, including one suggesting Maduro won the presidential election with 107% of the votes. In his simple reply, Musk left a laughing emoji.
Another post shared by Musk shows a statue of former president Hugo Chávez being torn down; the X CEO wrote, "Adios Dictador Maduro."
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As to claims Maduro made about Musk invading Venezuela with an army and his space rockets, one user asked if he could confirm or deny the rumor.
"Does he have space lasers? Because I do," Musk wrote.
Maduro was declared the winner of the country's presidential election on Sunday after securing more than 50% of the vote, although the opposition contends that the results are not accurate.
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The National Electoral Council said at around midnight that Maduro received 51% of the vote, while the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González, had 44% support, according to The Associated Press.
Elvis Amoroso, head of the National Electoral Council, said the results were based on 80% of voting stations and represented an irreversible trend.
The electoral authority, controlled by Maduro loyalists, did not immediately publish the results from each of the 30,000 polling booths across the country, impeding the opposition's ability to challenge the results after alleging it only had data for about 30% of the ballot boxes.
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"The Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened," González said.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado claimed González's margin of victory was "overwhelming." Machado said the opposition had voting results from about 40% of ballot boxes across the country and that more were expected overnight.
Officials and lawmakers in the U.S. and elsewhere expressed skepticism about the validity of Venezuela's presidential election results after Maduro was declared the victor.
Speaking in Tokyo, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has "serious concerns" about the announced outcome.
Fox News Digital's Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.