Russia responds to Trump-Musk feud with jokes, jibes and job offers

The feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk provoked chatter, mockery and amusement among the ruling class in Moscow, where one senior official joked about hosting peace talks and another said Musk should bring his businesses to Russia.

"Elon, don't be upset!" nationalist senator Dmitry Rogozin, who once ran Russia's space programme, wrote on Musk's X social media site. "If you encounter insurmountable problems in the US, come to us. Here you will find reliable comrades and complete freedom of technical creativity."

Dmitry Medvedev, a senior security official and former president, posted: "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!"

The public feud between the US president and the world's richest man was an easy target for Russian politicians who have a history of gloating over perceived turmoil in Washington.

Margarita Simonyan, one of Russia's most powerful state media executives, mocked it as an example of "modern US political culture" -- "Sort of like the English Industrial Revolution. Only in reverse."

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, who has in the past tried to interest Musk in cooperating with Russia on flights to Mars, asked on X: "Why can't we all just get along?" He then asked Grok, X's AI chatbot, how Musk and Trump could reconcile.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the clash, said it was an internal matter for the US, though he was confident that Trump would handle it.

"Presidents handle a huge number of different things at the same time, some more and some less important," Peskov said.

Others saw clear benefit for Russia from the feud distracting Washington.

"We can just be glad that they won't have time for us," said Konstantin Malofeyev, a hardline nationalist tycoon, who said it was now "the best time to strike back" against Ukraine.