This should end well.
A battle of the billionaires may be upon us after Mark Zuckerberg appeared to have accepted (or, more like, encouraged) Elon Musk’s request to duel in a cage match.
The bizarre interaction began on Twitter when Musk, 51, responded to a Tweet that claimed Zuckerberg’s Meta was developing a new platform reportedly called “Threads,” which will pose as a “Twitter Rival” that will allow users to carry over their followers and user information directly from Instagram.
I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options.
At least it will be “sane”. Was worried there for a moment ?.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2023
Another Twitter user then riffed on Musk’s response, warning him to steer clear of Zuckerberg, 39, since he’s now a newly acclaimed Jiu-Jitsu champion.
I’m up for a cage match if he is lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2023
Things then proceeded to get even more unbelievable from there when Zuckerberg took a screenshot of the Twitter interaction and posted it to his personal Instagram along with the words “Send me location.”
A Meta spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that Zuckerberg was very serious about his agreement to the match, simply saying “The [Instagram] story speaks for itself.”
Musk then suggested the “Vegas Octagon” as a location for the fight via Twitter while adding that he has some special moves up his sleeve that Zuckerberg should watch out for.
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
Musk’s model mom, Maye, however, is putting an end to squabble. The 75-year-old Tweeted shortly after the debacle that the fight has been canceled.
And now the fight has been canceled. Great relief! ? https://t.co/nIeRSXhKBt
— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) June 22, 2023
Then, after Elon replied with fire emojis to a video of UFC President Dana White talking about the potential for a real fight, Maye decided to set some ground rules.
A verbal fight only. Three questions each. The funniest answers win. Who agrees? https://t.co/qDQ6Ae9lEU
— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) June 23, 2023
Of course, Twitter had a field day in the replies.
One Elon parody account wrote, “Mom, I’m fighting him, stop!” and followed up with another Tweet in the same fashion.
MOM. You’re embarrassing me in front of my Twitter friends.
I’m going to break Zucks face.
— Elon Musk (Parody) (@ElonMuskAOC) June 23, 2023
Musk and Zuckerberg have been pitted against each other by the media as two of the richest men in the world and two of the biggest influences in the modern-day tech industry.
In 2014, Zuckerberg invited Musk to dinner at his home after Musk had raised concerns about the dangers of AI. Musk has since doubled down on his views about AI and even Tweeted that he doesn’t “like Facebook,” adding that it gives him “the willies.”
Oddly enough, Zuckerberg complimented Twitter’s owner weeks ago on an episode of “The Lex Fridman Podcast” when he was asked about his feelings towards Musk’s efforts with Twitter.
“Elon led a push early on to make Twitter a lot leaner,” Zuckerberg said. “I think that those were generally good changes.”
Should the cage match actually take place, Musk might have to enroll in some extra training — Zuckerberg has taken up quite the interest in Jiu-Jitsu recently, even winning gold at his first-ever tournament.
Related: Instagram Is Reportedly Rolling Out A Text-Based App to Compete With Twitter
“You don’t know this nerd is a silent killer,” said Khai Wu, Zuckerberg’s trainer at the Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu Academy in San Jose.
Let’s get ready to rumble!
