Topline
Billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have been teasing a cage fight between them for weeks, but Zuckerberg seemingly put an end to the plans Sunday, claiming he’s ready to “move on” because Musk “isn’t serious” about choosing a date for the fight.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said it’s clear X owner Elon Musk “isn’t serious” about the cage … [+]
Key Facts
Zuckerberg said in a post on Threads—Meta’s answer to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter—that “it’s time to move on” because Musk won’t confirm a date, adding Musk said he needs surgery—and months of recovery—before fighting and wanted to do a practice round in Zuckerberg’s backyard.
Also on Sunday, Musk posted to X—which he owns—a screenshot of a purported text conversation in which Musk appeared to suggest a practice round and Zuckerberg told him he should train on his own and say when he’s ready to compete, adding he doesn’t “want to keep hyping something that will never happen.”
The two tech moguls have been posting back and forth about a potential fight on their respective platforms since late June, but nothing materialized despite both CEOs posting pictures training with UFC fighters and UFC president Dana White offering to help coordinate the match.
On Friday, Musk said he spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who agreed to an “epic location” for the battle, and that his and Zuckerberg’s charitable foundations would organize the fight—but Zuckerberg said hours later people should “assume anything [Musk] says has not been agreed on.”
Crucial Quote
“I’m going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously,” Zuckerberg said.
Forbes Valuation
Musk, who cofounded Tesla and SpaceX and recently took over Twitter, is currently estimated to be worth $225.3 billion by Forbes, making him the richest person in the world. Zuckerberg, who rose to fame for his founding of Facebook and now runs its parent company Meta, is worth an estimated $106.9 billion, making him the eighth richest person in the world.
Key Background
The rivalry between Musk and Zuckerberg accelerated last year, after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion and became a key player in the social media realm that had been dominated by Zuckerberg’s Meta platforms, like Facebook and Instagram. In July, Zuckerberg took Musk head-on in terms of technology when Meta launched Threads, a direct competitor to X—and the first one that seemed to have a chance at replacing what was formerly Twitter. Musk’s attorney threatened to sue Meta for allegedly stealing his company’s intellectual property and recruiting former Twitter staffers—a claim Meta denied. Zuckerberg said in the first seven hours of its launch more than 10 million people signed up to join the new app, though engagement quickly dropped off, with a 70% decline in daily active users just two weeks after its launch.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/08/13/zuckerberg-thinks-its-time-to-move-on-from-planned-cage-fight-with-musk-elon-isnt-serious/