Musk Vs Zuckerberg Fight Might Not Take Place After All. Here's A Lowdown Of The World's Most Pointless Faceoff
In case you were wondering how two tech billionaires reached this (rather futile) point, read on to find out everything you need to know about 'Musk vs Zuck'.
After months of speculation and exchanges of social media blows, it appears that the most pointless fight of all time will actually not see fruition. Twitter (now X) owner Elon Musk and Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg were in talks to face off in a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight — a clash that was born out of the two billionaire’s personal rivalry, fueled by the launch of Twitter-rival Threads.
In case you were wondering how two tech entrepreneurs got to this point, read on.
When Did Musk-Zuckerberg Feud Begin?
While the talks around the two billionaire’s face-off started a couple of months ago, their actual feud could be traced way back to 2014. Back then, Zuckerberg invited Musk to his home to sort of convince the latter that artificial intelligence (AI) might not be as disruptive as he thinks it would be (Musk used to have a staunch anti-AI stand). Musk wasn’t convinced after the meeting and went on to claim that Zuckerberg’s understanding of AI was quite limited. He also took potshots over the years at Meta’s leading platforms, saying that Facebook gives him “the willies” and that Instagram “makes people depressed”.
Instagram makes people depressed & Twitter makes people angry. Which is better?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2023
When Facebook got embroiled in the Cambridge Analytica data scandal in 2018, Musk pulled his EV company Tesla and spacefaring firm SpaceX out of Facebook.
It’s not a political statement and I didn’t do this because someone dared me to do it. Just don’t like Facebook. Gives me the willies. Sorry.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2018
Who Called For The Fight First?
Well, it comes as no surprise that it was Musk (known for his eccentric statements on social media) who broached the topic of a fight.
In June this year, reports started cropping up that Meta was looking to launch a Twitter rival, codenamed ‘Project 92’ — launched as Threads on July 6. Around this time, Musk yet again resumed potshots at Zuckerberg, often resorting to juvenile argot.
Zuck my 👅
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2023
On June 20, while replying to another user, Musk tweeted that he is “up for a cage fight” if Zuckerberg is.
I’m up for a cage match if he is lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2023
In response, instead of acting sensibly, Zuckerberg pulled a Khabib Nurmagomedov and posted “send me the location” in an Instagram story.
Musk Vs Zuck: The Fight That Could Have Been
In classic Twitter tradition, netizens went agog over the two billionaires facing off, posting their thoughts and wild predictions.
Mark Zuckerberg just accepted Elon’s invite for a cage match.
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) June 22, 2023
Choose your fighter.
Elon at 6’2” vs Zuck at 5’8”
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/J9TFHsRbqt
MMA celebrities and podcasters were no strangers to this development. When Musk suggested UFC venue, the Vegas Octagon, the promoter’s president Dana White immediately got into the mix, claiming in an interview with TMZ that both the contenders were “dead serious”.
Former kickboxer and social media celebrity Andrew Tate recommended himself as Musk’s trainer. This was primarily due to the fact that he was banned from Facebook and Instagram over Covid-19 misinformation. UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, on the other hand, offered to train Zuckerberg. Podcaster and jiu-jitsu practitioner Lex Fridman tweeted that he trained with Musk and was “extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill”.
I did an impromptu training session with @elonmusk for a few hours yesterday. I'm extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill, on the feet and on the ground. It was epic. It's really inspiring to see Elon and Mark doing martial arts, but I think the world is served… pic.twitter.com/cq00A9Xnmw
— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) June 27, 2023
Speaking of jiu-jitsu, Zuckerberg has been training in MMA and jiu-jitsu since the Covid-induced lockdown months and even competed in his first tournament in May 2023 — and even won multiple medals.
So, Is The Fight Happening Or Not?
As was apparent from the juvenile challenges, the Zuck vs Musk fight might not be a reality after all. On August 14, Zuckerberg posted on Threads that “Elon isn’t serious” and that “it’s time to move on”. The Meta CEO went on to say that he did suggest a date for the fight — August 26 — and that he agreed to Musk’s proposal to live stream the fight to raise money for charity.
“If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously,” added Zuckerberg.
Post by @zuckView on Threads
How did Musk respond? Well, in his signature style, the world’s richest man came up with this retort:
Zuck is a chicken
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2023
Oh, so mature.
For now, it looks like the fight might not ever take place at all. Fans who would rather see that needless spectacle will have to wait and see.
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