TECH GIANTS MARK Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are in a fierce business rivalry that has spilt over into a playground spat, with the two men offering to face each other in a cage fight.
Months after Musk took over Twitter, Zuckerberg’s Meta hinted it was planning to launch its own text-based social media platform – essentially a direct rival.
Musk has trolled Zuckerberg ever since with messages on Twitter, telling his fans this week: “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.”
Zuckerberg, who has followed the trend of tech bosses getting buff and posting martial arts videos, responded yesterday on his Instagram Stories with a screenshot of the message and a response: “Send me location.”
Meta confirmed to AFP that Zuckerberg’s message was genuine.
I’m up for a cage match if he is lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2023
Musk shot back tweeting “Vegas Octagon” in reference to the competition mat and fenced-in arena used by fighters.
The Twitter boss joked that he had a “great move” to show off to Zuckerberg and noted that his workout regime consists of spending time with this children.
“I have this great move that I call “The Walrus”, where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing,” he tweeted.
He also added: “I almost never work out, except for picking up my kids & throwing them in the air.”
Zuckerberg would appear to be in good shape for the challenge after winning his first jiu-jitsu competition recently.
I have this great move that I call “The Walrus”, where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 22, 2023
The exchange has provoked mirth on social media with plenty of fight predictions – Zuckerberg emerging as the clear favourite.
“Please god let this happen,” technology journalist Taylor Lorenz wrote on Twitter.
“The best Musk-Zuckerberg cage match is one in which two men enter and no men leave,” wrote podcaster Bennett Tomlin.
Controversial influencer and former kickboxer Andrew Tate, who was charged yesterday with rape and human trafficking, has offered to train Musk for the fight.
The two men have baited each other for years with opposing views on everything from politics to artificial intelligence.
But their new business rivalry has supercharged the animosity.
Musk responded angrily to a recent claim by a Meta official that there was appetite for a “sanely run” Twitter alternative.
The Tesla and SpaceX boss bought the social media firm for $44 billion before sacking much of its staff and allowing banned right-wing conspiracy theorists back onto the platform – sending advertisers fleeing.
Musk defended his handling of Twitter at an event in Paris last week, saying advertisers had come back and he had eliminated almost all bots.
In an interview earlier this month with US podcaster Lex Fridman, Zuckerberg was asked to say something positive about Musk’s handling of Twitter.
After an eight-second pause for thought, he said Musk had “led a push early on to make Twitter a lot leaner”, a move he said was good for the industry.
Zuckerberg announced thousands of job cuts at his firm months after Musk did so at Twitter.
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