Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg traded blows on social media, where they discussed squaring off in a cage match.
The battle of the billionaire tech bros would take place in Las Vegas, according to Musk, provided the 51-year-old Twitter owner actually follows through. His 39-year-old rival, whose Meta tech company is currently building a platform to compete with Twitter, competes in mixed martial arts.
“I’m up for a cage match if he is lol,” Musk tweeted late Tuesday night.
Zuckerberg responded by telling Musk to name the location.
“Vegas Octagon,” Musk replied Wednesday night.
Online sparring between the pair began Tuesday when Musk seemingly addressed a Meta executive’s suggestion that Zuckerberg’s Twitter alternative would be “sanely run.”
Twitter has been widely criticized as a hotbed for disinformation since Musk — who dabbles in conspiracy theories — paid $44 billion to take over the platform.
“I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options,” Musk tweeted sarcastically. “At least it will be ‘sane.’ Was worried there for a moment.”
When a Twitter user warned Musk that he may not want to upset Zuckerberg, who has won medals in jiu-jitsu, the Twitter boss said he’s up for the fight.
But a later attempt at humor by Musk indicated he may not be able to make weight for a showdown with his tech world rival.
“I have this great move that I call ‘The Walrus,’ where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing,” Musk tweeted Wednesday night.
Tech publication The Verge confirmed with a Meta spokesperson that Zuckerberg wasn’t kidding. Twitter, meanwhile, responds to media inquiries with a poop emoji.
A spokesperson for workout brand Total Shape said in a statement to the Us.Mistertruth that if this fight actually happens, Zuckerberg “would have the edge of agility and endurance needed to take Musk down,” while Musk’s larger frame would give him a fighting chance.
Musk found himself under fire for picking a different fight over the weekend when he joined podcaster and MMA personality Joe Rogan in pressuring vaccine expert Dr. Peter Hotez to debate Democratic presidential candidate and conspiracy pusher Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the topic of COVID-19 vaccines. Billionaire tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban joined a chorus of critics who chastised Musk and Rogan for championing such a pointless spectacle.