Those who think techies only fight their wars on computers may be in for a surprise. When Elon Musk directly challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight, many might have seen it as theatrics, but now that Threads has gone head-to-head with Twitter, it looks like the battle could take place inside the ring. It seems Zuckerberg has already landed the first punch; however, Musk is determined to get his revenge after Twitter took legal action against Meta for reportedly hiring personnel that had knowledge of the former’s trade secrets. Alex Sipro, speaking on behalf of Twitter, stated that Zuckerberg brought in staff members with access to confidential information.
When Did It All Start?
It all began in June when entrepreneur Marion Nafwal tweeted about Instagram’s new text-based network, Threads, as a competitor to Twitter. Elon Musk, the current leader of the social media platform, quickly hit back with a quip: “up for a cage match if he (Zuckerberg) is lol.”
This caused quite an uproar and according to sources, Zuckerberg replied on his Instagram by posting a screenshot of Musk’s tweet accompanied by “send me location” – quoting Khabib Nurmagomedov. No official word on whether this fight will actually go ahead or what the particulars would be has been released yet – but one thing’s for sure: there’s certainly something strange going on in the tech world.
Elon Musk Vs Mark Zuckerberg: Battle In The Boxing Ring
Under Elon Musk’s management, Twitter has seen many of its advertisers drift away and opened the door for potential rivals. Upon hearing about Mark Zuckerberg launching Threads–a possible competitor to Twitter–Musk tweeted: “I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb.” In response, a user jokingly warned that Zuckerberg knew jiu-jitsu which prompted Musk to suggest they settle things in a “cage match.” This caused quite a stir on social media: many accused the two billionaires of trying to emulate Godzilla vs Kong or Alien vs Predator – joking that “Whoever wins, we lose!”
Recently, speculation about a potential cage fight between the both billionaires has gained traction after images of Musk training in mixed martial arts went viral. Zuckerberg recruited two top UFC champions, Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski – Middleweight and Featherweight respectively – who visited his home in Northern California shortly after the end of UFC 290 in Las Vegas to help him prepare.
Mark Zuckerberg’s “Threads” App: A Digital Punch To Elon Musk’s Dominance
Meta has released Threads, its answer to Twitter, in response to Elon Musk’s frequent changes to the social media platform. It is a text-based version of Instagram and provides “a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations.” With 30 million sign-ups in less than 24 hours and 100 signups over the weekend of launch across 100 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Japan, celebrities such as Gordon Ramsay and Jack Black have already signed up alongside Airbnb, Netflix and Vogue Magazine. Coinciding with this launch, there is also a growing anticipation surrounding the highly anticipated Oppenheimer movie. It will be interesting to see how this movie buzz intertwines with Meta’s latest venture.
Elon Musk Vs Mark Zuckerberg Net Worth
Despite Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg discussing a cage match, Tesla Inc. CEO was the clear winner in terms of net worth. At the end of June, Musk had added a whopping $96.6 billion to his already substantial fortune, while Zuckerberg saw an increase of $58.9 billion to his own wealth. Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index ranks Musk with a net worth of $244 billion as compared to Mark’s estimated $106 billion – less than half of Elon’s.
Can The Fight Actually Happen?
Dana White, President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), informed that Musk and Zuckerberg are all edging closer to a fight with their respective advisors. He stressed though that there is no surety that the match will take place, while saying that “the broad contours of the event are taking shape”.
On the other hand, Maye Musk, mother to Elon, has voiced her disagreement towards the competition and was glad to discover it had been called off. “Actually, I cancelled the fight. I haven’t told them yet. But I’m going to keep saying it’s cancelled, just in case,” she remarked.
