Greta Thunberg ends year with one of the greatest tweets in history | Rebecca Solnit

Thunberg's funny exchange is a reminder of the connection between machismo, misogyny and hostility to climate action

On 27 December, former kickboxer, professional misogynist and online entrepreneur Andrew Tate, 36, sent a boastfully hostile tweet to climate activist Greta Thunberg, 19, about his sports car collection. Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions," he wrote. He was probably hoping to enhance his status by mocking her climate commitment. Instead, she burned the macho guy to a crisp in nine words.

Cars are routinely tokens of virility and status for men, and the image accompanying his tweet of him pumping gas into one of his vehicles, coupled with his claims about their enormous emissions", had unsolicited dick pic energy. Thunberg seemed aware of that when she replied: yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com."

Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. Her most recent books are Recollections of My Nonexistence and Orwell's Roses