Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg agree to face-off in a cage fight
Sparring partners
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Heavyweights in the world of tech, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have engaged in a war of words that looks set to escalate to an old fashioned physical duel.
Twitter owner Elon Musk, who has been known to enjoy the odd jab at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, threw down the gauntlet by musing on his social media platform that he’d be “up for a cage match if he [Zuckerberg] is.”
Nibbling at the bait, Zuckerberg posted a screenshot of Musk’s tweet with the caption “send me location.”
Musk retorted with two words: “Vegas Octagon.”
Elon Musk took control of Twitter in October 2022 after completing the $44billion deal
Reuters
The Octagon is the fenced-in fighting space used for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bouts based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Technology news site The Verge claims to have confirmed from Zuckerberg’s team that he is serious about calling Musk’s bluff.
Asked for clarity on the situation, a Meta spokesperson is reported to have said: “The story speaks for itself.”
Zuckerberg has reason to be bullish, for the 39-year-old has already been training in mixed martial arts (MMA) and is not only taking part in jiu-jitsu tournaments but winning them.
Zuckerberg and a group of fellow Harvard University students founded Facebook in 2004
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Though Zuckerberg may be shorter at 5’8’’ than Musk’s 6’2’’ frame, the owner of Meta will feel he makes up for it in the fitness department.
Zuckerberg claims to have recently completed the “Murph Challenge” workout in just under 40 minutes.
Named after Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2005, the Murph Challenge involves running a mile, then doing 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, and then running another mile, all while wearing a 20lb (9kg) weighted pack.
Musk, who turns 52 later this month, has set up the backtrack or is at least getting the excuses in early, as he took to Twitter to make light of the situation.
Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes Real Time Billionaires list as of June 2023
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Musk tweeted: "I have this great move that I call "The Walrus", where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing."
He added: "I almost never work out, except for picking up my kids & throwing them in the air."
However, in Musk’s backpocket is his claim that while growing up in South Africa, he became embroiled in “real hard-core street fights.”
With two enormous egos engaged in the standoff, Musk has hinted that both of the billionaire’s arms might be twisted for fear of losing face.
Musk predicted: “The most entertaining outcome is most likely.”
Tensions between the two tech pioneers have been brewing for a while, as Zuckerberg’s company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly brewing up a text-based social media platform to rival Musk’s Twitter.
Swiftly becoming one of the industry’s worst kept secrets, Meta have taunted Twitter through leaking information about their new social network that has the working title of P92.
In an internal all-hands meeting last week, Meta’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, is said to have told employees that creators want a version of Twitter that is “sanely run,” to which they heartily agreed with claps and cheers.
In a recent interview on a podcast with Lex Fridman, Zuckerberg delivered a thinly veiled insult towards Musk: “I’ve always thought that Twitter should have a billion people using it.”