Zuckerberg-Musk cage fight: Will they, won't they? But, maybe not on August 26
A cage fight between two tech billionaires in a Roman Collasseum setting may seem like an outlandish social media stunt. If not downright weird. Right? But, no, it seems like this match may just happen but probably not on August 26, as first suggested by one of the challengers in this mega fight.
The much-hyped up cage fight between the 52-year-old Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg, 39, seems to have social media enthralled. Social media users like the vicarious, blood-thirsty Roman spectators of yore cannot wait to watch this ‘rare spectacle’, which seems even for the bragging, chest-beating titans of the tech industry, a tad over the top. Even Steve Jobs and Bill Gates used to snipe at each other, say reports, but they never actually got into a fighting ring.
Exact date uncertain
The latest development in this Zuck vs Musk showdown is that the Space X founder tweeted that the exact date of the fight is still uncertain because he may require surgery and that he was getting an MRI of his neck and upper back done. “Exact date is still in flux. I’m getting an MRI of my neck & upper back tomorrow. May require surgery before the fight can happen. Will know this week,” tweeted Musk in his newly branded platform, X.
Musk, a notorious workaholic, has said that he has suffered from “mega back pain” after a bout with a sumo wrestler.
On the other side of the ring, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who has been itching for the fight made his standpoint clear. With complete nonchalance, he wrote that he was “not holding his breath” over the proposed cage fight with Musk. But it doesn’t look like the clash will happen on the proposed date of August 26.
Zuckerberg, 39, posted on the Threads app that he was “ready today” for a bout but that he was yet to get confirmation about August 26 date from the Tesla chief executive.
“I’m ready today. I suggested August 26 when he first challenged, but he hasn’t confirmed. Not holding my breath,” Zuckerberg wrote on Sunday.
Musk had challenged Zuckerberg to a cage fight in June, prompting his rival to reply: “Send me location.”
It has been unclear since then whether this high-octane cage brawl will take place or whether it was just online jousting between tech billionaires.
Escalating competition
Musk, who has rebranded Twitter as X, said early on Sunday that the contest would be livestreamed on his platform and that all proceeds from the fight would go to army veterans.
Referring to the tech glitches that have hit Twitter since Musk bought the platform last year, Zuckerberg could not resist a jibe: “Shouldn’t we use a more reliable platform that can actually raise money for charity?” Yes, it was supposed to sting Musk since Facebook and Instagram have a built-in fundraising feature, while X / Twitter does not.
But Musk is more intent on getting his MRI scan done, and so media reports said that it is unlikely a fight can take place, (if it all it does!), on August 26.
Competition between the men has intensified after Facebook-parent Meta released a rival social network, Threads, which directly competes with Musk’s X.
Whether it will happen or not, social media users have been taking bets on who will emerge as the victor in this fight. Though Musk’s mother, who obviously frowns on this entire brawl drama has put out a tweet urging people not to encourage this kind of a fight.
In the past, Musk has been seen training diligently with experts like Lex Fridman, a computer scientist well-versed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and UFC champion George St-Pierre. While Zuckerberg is a devotee of mixed martial arts and has posted pictures of himself training with MMA professionals.
