Intended to attack Ukraine

Putin’s bloodhound: cybertruck as propaganda tank

Tesla Cybertruck as a propaganda tank for the Russians

(Bild: Telegram @Kadyrov_95)

Because of its eye-catching design and solid stainless steel body, Tesla's Cybertruck is often referred to as a tank and can even withstand smaller projectiles. 857 hp make it a projectile itself and as a Russian propaganda vehicle it can also fire - because it is heavily armed.

No one will be able to drive the Cybertruck here in the near future, as it is unlikely to be registered. But Putin's bloodhound Ramzan Kadyrov is not even letting international sanctions stop him from organizing one for himself. In a Telegram video, he sounds like he wants to use it in a war of aggression against Ukraine. Even if this is unlikely to happen, some of the vehicle's features make it seem entirely suitable for such a terrible mission.

(Bild: Telegram @Kadyrov_95)

First of all, there is the armament. Mounted on the loading area is a "super-heavy machine gun" from the manufacturer NSW, which has been built in what is now Russia since 1972. Weighing 25 kilograms unloaded, the belt box holds 50 12.7 × 108 mm caliber cartridges, which are fed in via a belt. The gun can theoretically fire 750 rounds per minute, but the barrel must be cooled down or replaced after 100 rounds.

The vehicle itself is suitable for off-road use, thanks to a good 40 centimetres of ground clearance with the air suspension fully extended. It can also roll through water up to 80 centimeters deep. But not just like that: you have to activate a corresponding mode and wait around ten minutes. The reason: excess pressure is built up in the battery so that no water can penetrate.

(Bild: Telegram @Kadyrov_95)

The 5.68 meter long 3.1 ton heavyweight (without MG) is also fast: it supposedly reaches 100 km/h in under 2.9 seconds and runs at over 200 km/h. Depending on the version, the towing capacity is up to 5 tons. The batteries should last for over 500 kilometers.

How bulletproof is the Cybertruck?
Inside the vehicle, it should even be possible to survive an attack with 9 mm caliber firearms unharmed. However, the fact that the "body and windows are bulletproof", as Tesla's PR man claimed at an event in Vienna, is just a rumor. The fact is: although the windows are relatively shatterproof, they have little to offer a bullet. And the sheets can only withstand the aforementioned calibers in places where they have the full thickness of 1.8 millimeters, such as on the doors. And even there it depends on the type of ammunition, the caliber alone is not decisive.

This is where the Cybertruck should really fight
In this respect, the armed cybertruck is hardly fighting on the battlefield, but rather in a propaganda war against the West. The question is: how did Kadyrov get the Tesla? After all, he was subject to tough sanctions that were supposed to make it impossible for him to get his hands on a Western vehicle. He seems to want to give the impression that Tesla boss Elon Musk personally gave him the Cybertruck: "Elon, thank you! I express my sincere gratitude to Elon Musk! This is of course the most powerful genius of our time and a specialist. A great man!"

Musk denies it
Elon Musk himself has already responded: "Are you really so retarded that you think I gave a Cybertruck to a Russian general?" he replied to a post by US author and journalist Seth Abramson on Musk's X platform. The claim was "another example of how much the established media lie".

In the video, Kadyrov drives through the Chechen capital Grozny in an armed electric vehicle and tones: "A truly invulnerable and fast animal."

In fact, the video is probably intended as a propaganda broadside against the West and to make it clear that the rich and powerful in Russia have their ways of circumventing the sanctions. Friendly foreign countries support the warmongers, middlemen organize the import. Kadyrov can rely on the United Arab Emirates, among others.

Kadyrov poses with cartridge belts.

(Bild: Telegram @Kadyrov_95)

This is Ramzan Kadyrov
Kadyrov has been called Putin's bloodhound, torturer or butcher. The 47-year-old is internationally criticized for serious human rights violations. Civil rights activists accuse the ardent supporter of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin of murdering political opponents, torturing prisoners and kidnapping people. The ruler himself fills public offices with relatives and, with the silent approval of the Kremlin, repeatedly and demonstratively violates laws. In addition to the clip of the Cybertruck, Kadyrov also disseminated images of Ukrainian war dead and prisoners of war.