Elon Musk Offers 'Proof' Of His Wrestling Skills To Show He Can Take On Vladimir Putin

Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk is seeking to put to rest doubts about his martial arts skills and whether he can really take on Russian President Vladimir Putin in single combat.

What Happened: Responding to a tweet by cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao from a week earlier, Musk shared an old photo of him taking on a Sumo wrestler.

The tech billionaire, who has 78.6 million followers on Twitter, added that he ended up with eight years of “mega back pain” despite managing to throw the wrestler.

See Also: Elon Musk's 'Chechen Adventure:' Could There Be A New Reality Show Coming?

Why It Matters: Musk, aged 50, had challenged Putin to a “single combat” fight last week and said that the winner would get Ukraine. His challenge — which came following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — generated immense interest in the martial arts skills of the two men.

Musk had said in an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he had trained in Kyokushin karate, taekwondo, judo, and “Brazilian jiu-jitsu briefly,” as per a report by Black Belt Magazine.

The 69-year-old Putin is a judo black belt and practiced the Russian martial art of Sambo as a child. He has also co-authored a book “Judo: History, Theory, Practice.”

However, the International Judo Federation in late February suspended Putin’s status as honorary president and ambassador due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

World Taekwondo also said last month it had decided to withdraw the honorary ninth dan black belt conferred to Putin in November 2013.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed 3.9% higher in Friday’s regular trading session at $905.39 and further rose 0.2% in the after-hours session to $907.60.

Read Next: 'I Say Something, And Then It Usually Happens': 20 Indelible Quotes From Elon Musk

Photo by Steve Jurvetson on Wikimedia