Putin, on Russian state TV: "Elon Musk is a genius, and we are only taking the first steps."
In 2002, a young Elon Musk flew to Moscow to buy old Russian ICBMs for a Mars mission. The Russians didn't take him seriously and quoted a price he considered absurd. So he went home and built his own rockets.
24 years later, SpaceX dominates global launch with reusable boosters, and the leader of the country that turned him away calls him a genius and admits Russia is just starting.
When they push you against the wall, break the wall.