The military issues website BulgarianMilitary.com has reported on a video posted by Chechnya’s Kadyrovite troops that claims to show two heavy machine gun mounted Tesla Cybertrucks patrolling in the Ukrainian combat zone as part of a four-vehicle team.
In what seems little more than a public relations exercise, the trucks speed around dirt tracks in a lightly forested area before stopping to engage a small quadcopter drone and shoot it down.
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Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in another of his excessive publicity stunts, posted a video on YouTube and Telegram on Saturday, Aug. 17, posing with a Tesla Cybertruck mounted with a Russian PKM 12.7 mm heavy machine gun which he pledged to send to the front line in Ukraine in support of the so-called “Special Military Operation.”
He used the opportunity to heap praise on the electric vehicle, the Tesla company, and Elon Musk in particular, who he described as the “strongest genius of modern times.” He claimed to have received the truck as a present from the billionaire himself, saying “I literally fell in love with this car. Elon, thank you!”
He then added: “Come to Grozny, I’ll receive you as my dearest guest! I don’t think our Russian Foreign Ministry would object to such a trip.”
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Challenged on Kadyrov’s claims by US journalist Seth Abramson, Musk said it was a lie, replying angrily: “Are you seriously so retarded that you think I gave a Cybertruck to a Russian general? This is amazing.”
Less than a month after Kadyrov’s previous publicity stunt, Kadyrov complained that Musk had remotely disabled his vehicle saying: “That's not a nice thing for Elon Musk to do. He gives expensive gifts from the bottom of his heart and then remotely switches them off.” Musk completely denied these later accusations, but the Chechen's accusations, more or less, coincided with the release of the “patrol” video.
The Tesla Cybertrucks in the latest video are painted green to match the main color of the Russian army’s camouflage, probably in an attempt to make them appear more “military.” It was also not clear if these were two new Cybertrucks or if one of them was Kadyrov’s original silver vehicle repainted. The trucks were fitted with DShK 12.7 x 108 mm heavy machine guns, considerably more powerful than Kadyrov’s original gun.
The BulgarianMilitary.com article wonders, if the video is genuine, how the Chechen Teslas got anywhere near the war zone and how Kadyrov avoided international sanctions. It raises further concerns about the effectiveness of the current sanctions against Russia particularly in respect of sensitive technologies and in particular how Tesla or its agents are failing in their obligations in this area.
The Cybertruck, despite the Chechen leader’s lyrical description, may be speedy and maneuverable but it was not designed as a military vehicle, has no armored protection and was not intended for off-road use. The logistic and maintenance penalties associated with electric vehicles on the battlefield and in combat conditions has yet to be tested but could be insurmountable.
Even more worrying, if you’re a Chechen, is the claim that Musk was able to remotely disable the Cybertrucks, which poses a serious potential security threat to their use in combat. If true, it would be good news for Ukraine and the West, offering a vulnerability that could be readily exploited.
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