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Cailianshe News, August 22 (Edited by Zhao Hao)Last week, Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of the Chechen Republic of Russia, posted a video on social media in which he showed an electric pickup truck Cybertruck with a machine gun mounted on top, and he himself stood behind the machine gun.

Source: Kadyrov’s social media account

Kadyrov wrote in the caption, "We received a Tesla electric truck from the respected Elon Musk. I had the opportunity to test the new equipment and saw with my own eyes that it is no accident that it is called the 'cyber beast'."

He added, “It is maneuverable and extremely fast, can overcome all kinds of obstacles, is a real, indestructible animal, and is a very convenient car. Based on such outstanding characteristics, this Cybertruck will soon be sent to the southwest region (Russia-Ukraine conflict area).”

"I am sure that this 'beast' will be of great use to our warriors," Kadyrov said. "I express my heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk! He is undoubtedly the most powerful genius and expert of our time. Without a doubt, it is one of the best cars in the world! I really fell in love with this car."

Kadyrov also invited Musk to visit Chechnya at the end. Since Kadyrov is a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Musk was attacked on social media. In response, Musk strongly countered, "Are you really stupid enough to think I sent a Cybertruck to a Russian general?"

Source: Musk’s social media account

As for whether Cybertruck can play a role on the battlefield, Mark Cancian, a senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel, said that this futuristic electric car may be completely useless on the actual battlefield.

"Where can you charge this thing on the battlefield? There are no Tesla charging stations on the Donbass front." Experts including Kancian believe that no matter how Kadyrov circumvented Western sanctions to deliver this electric car to Russian soldiers, it must have been just bragging.

Simon Miles, an assistant professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy and a historian of the Soviet Union and U.S.-Soviet relations, said, "Kadyrov is basically a weird, childish person who likes expensive toys. He and Musk are both keen on 'provoking' others on the Internet."

Kadyrov's lust for fame aside, Kancian points out that sending the Cybertruck to the battlefield simply doesn't make sense logistically, because the vehicle needs to be powered by electricity, using electric motors and rechargeable batteries rather than traditional gasoline engines, equipment and infrastructure that are often lacking on the front lines.

“You could bring your own generator and plug it into a Tesla outlet, but that would mean you would need to run the generator to generate the electricity to power your electric car, so what’s the value of that?” Cancian said. (The generator runs on gasoline or diesel.)

Cancian admitted that the Cybertruck could be useful to the Russian military "in rare cases," and that the vehicle's "stealth" could make up for the inconvenience in certain special operations. Compared to internal combustion pickup trucks, electrification makes the Cybertruck of the same size quieter and more stealthy.

But Cancian concluded: "That car is super cool, but completely useless." Cancian also mentioned that the U.S. Army is also building an electric vehicle fleet, and some military stakeholders are pushing the U.S. military to move to electrification, which is a problem they are trying to solve.

In February 2022, before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the U.S. Army released its first climate strategy, which included reducing carbon emissions and building an electric vehicle fleet in the coming years. The U.S. Army claimed that this move would help it cope with the threat posed by global climate change.

Cancian said the electrification of military vehicles requires large amounts of readily available electricity, something the military is still working to address. Therefore, it is questionable whether the U.S. Army, a major global carbon emitter, can achieve the above goals.

Last year, former US President and Republican presidential candidate Trump said at a rally that the United States under the Biden administration has become "a country that wants to electrify all our great military tanks." "Although the tanks can't go very far, when we rush into enemy territory, less pollutants will be released into the air."

Trump also said that Biden also wants to make the United States' jet fighters more environmentally friendly, which will reduce the efficiency of fighter jets by 15% and make the atmosphere of the United States' "enemies free of pollutants."