Moscow seizes on billionaire’s White House banishment with ‘joke or trap’ offer – as ex-space rival invites him to become Russian fighter pilot
Russia has sensationally offered Elon Musk political asylum following his spectacular public breakup with Donald Trump, as the billionaire watched his Tesla empire lose a staggering $150 billion in value in a single day.
In what observers are calling either a joke or a political trap, senior Russian officials moved to exploit the rift between two of the world’s most powerful men, with one Kremlin-linked figure even suggesting Musk could become a Russian “fighter pilot.”
The extraordinary intervention came as Tesla’s stock plummeted 14% on Thursday – the company’s worst day in five years – wiping out more than $150 billion in market value as investors fled amid fears of Trump’s threatened retaliation against Musk’s business empire.
‘RUSSIA COULD PROVIDE IT’
Dmitry Novikov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, made the asylum offer in comments to Russian state news outlet TASS on Friday.
I think that Musk has a completely different game, [so] he will not need any political asylum, although if he did, Russia, of course, could provide it,” Novikov said, in remarks translated from Russian.
The Communist Party deputy emphasised that while Musk likely wouldn’t need asylum, the offer stands if “circumstances change” amid his explosive tensions with Trump.
FIGHTER PILOT INVITATION
In perhaps the most provocative offer, Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos and Musk’s onetime rival in spaceflight, extended an invitation for the SpaceX founder to join Russian forces.
“Elon @elonmusk, don’t be upset! You are respected in Russia. If you encounter insurmountable problems in the US, come to us and become one of us — a ‘Bars-Sarmat’ fighter,” Rogozin wrote on X.
“Here you will find reliable comrades and complete freedom of technical creativity.”
MEDVEDEV’S MOCKERY
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, couldn’t resist mocking the American drama, offering to “mediate” between the feuding billionaires.
We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D and E for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment. Don’t fight, guys!” Medvedev posted on X with a horrified face emoji, referring to Musk’s satellite internet network.
TESLA’S CATASTROPHIC PLUNGE
The Russian trolling came as Tesla experienced its worst single-day loss in history, with shares crashing 14.3% to close at $283.10, down $47.35 for the day.
The electronic vehicle maker saw its market capitalisation evaporate by $152 billion – dropping below the psychologically important $1 trillion benchmark to settle at $916 billion.
At one point during Thursday’s chaotic trading, shares plunged as much as 18% in what analysts called the sharpest selloff in almost five years.
For Musk personally, the damage was catastrophic. The world’s richest man saw $34 billion erased from his personal net worth – the second-largest loss ever recorded in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index of the 500 wealthiest people on the planet.
His net worth fell from $422 billion to $388 billion in a single day, though he remains comfortably the world’s richest person with a $100 billion cushion over the second-place billionaire.
FROM BROMANCE TO BREAKUP
The extraordinary stock collapse followed an explosive Thursday in which Trump and Musk traded increasingly vicious public attacks over social media and in comments to reporters.
The feud erupted over Musk’s criticism of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” – a sweeping tax and spending proposal that the Tesla CEO branded a “disgusting abomination” that would add trillions to the national debt.
Trump fired back by threatening to “terminate Elon’s governmental subsidies and contracts,” declaring that Musk had “gone CRAZY” after being asked to leave the administration.
‘WITHOUT ME, TRUMP WOULD HAVE LOST’
In a series of inflammatory posts, Musk claimed “Without me, Trump would have lost the election” and appeared to endorse calls for the president’s impeachment.
The billionaire, who donated nearly $300 million to Trump’s campaign, even made unsubstantiated allegations that Trump appears in the Jeffrey Epstein files, posting: “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
KREMLIN KEEPS DISTANCE
Despite the provocative offers from Russian officials, the Kremlin officially sought to distance itself from the American drama.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the feud as “a domestic issue of the United States, and we don’t intend to interfere.
“We’re confident the US president will handle this situation on his own,” he added diplomatically.
WALL STREET PANIC
The Tesla selloff sent shockwaves through Wall Street, with analysts warning of serious consequences for Musk’s business empire if the feud continues.
The quickly deteriorating friendship and now ‘major beef’ between Musk and Trump is jaw-dropping and a shock to the market, and putting major fear for Tesla investors on what is ahead,” wrote Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
Ross Gerber, CEO of Tesla investor Gerber Kawasaki, warned that the feud “creates a negative force against Tesla” that could jeopardize regulations and trigger government investigations.
EV TAX CREDITS AT RISK
Adding to investor fears, Trump’s budget bill proposes ending the popular $7,500 electric vehicle subsidy by the end of 2025 – a move that could cost Tesla $1.2 billion in annual profit according to J.P. Morgan analysts.
The investment bank warned Tesla could face an additional $2 billion setback to regulatory credit sales due to separate Senate legislation targeting California’s EV sales mandates.
SNOWDEN COMPARISONS
Russian officials ironically suggested that Musk could join the ranks of American fugitives in Russia, including former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek, who British prosecutors say is a Russian spy.
The comparison to high-profile Western defectors underscored Moscow’s eagerness to capitalize on any division within American power structures.
STOCK RECOVERY UNCERTAIN
While Tesla shares recovered slightly on Friday, gaining up to 5% in early trading, they remain down approximately 21% for 2025 – a decline that accelerated dramatically following Musk’s departure from the Trump administration last week.
The company that was worth over $1 trillion just days ago now faces an uncertain future as its CEO wages an increasingly bitter war with the President of the United States – a man who just months ago was calling Musk “one of our great brains.
As Moscow watches with amusement and extends its provocative “helping hand,” the question remains whether this is merely political theater or the beginning of a more serious rift that could reshape both men’s futures – and potentially drive the world’s richest man into the waiting arms of America’s adversaries.
Image credit:
“Trump-Musk-Putin” by Buaidh is licensed under CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
