2023-08-14 05:03:13
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Elon Musk (right) and Mark Zuckerberg (left)
Article informationAuthor, Daniel ThomasRole, Business Correspondent
2 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Facebook parent company Meta, said Elon Musk is “not serious” regarding a cage fight with him and that it was “time to move on”.
In a post on the social networking site owned by “Threads”, Zuckerberg said that he offered Musk, owner of social networking company X (formerly Twitter), a “real date” but that the rival businessman made excuses.
Musk had indicated earlier Sunday on his messaging site X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was ready to fight as early as Monday.
The two billionaires agreed to a match last June, sparking huge media interest.
But despite motivating each other for months, the two opponents have not yet set a date, which has raised doubts regarding the possibility of a fight.
The war of words between them escalated with Zuckerberg’s launch of the “Threads” platform, last July, as the X-rival messaging app attracted more than 100 million subscribers in less than a week.
That number is down once more, and X is still comfortably ahead with around 350m users — but Mr. Musk has threatened to sue Facebook for “illegal misappropriation of Twitter trade secrets”.
Meta denies the allegations.
Last week, Mr. Zuckerberg said he suggested August 26th for a cage fight. Then in a twist on Friday, Italy’s culture minister said he had spoken to Mr. Musk regarding hosting the showdown in his country as a charity event.
However, the head of Meta Corporation posted on Sunday on Threads: “Elon won’t confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now orders a practice run in my backyard instead.”
He added, “If Elon is serious regarding a real date and an official event, he knows how to get to me. Otherwise, it’s time to move on. I’ll focus on competing with people who take sports seriously.”
However, Musk responded via the X app, calling Meta’s boss a “coward.”
Earlier, Musk posted a text message exchanged on the messaging platform purporting to be between him and Zuckerberg.
In the letter, Musk tells the head of Meta that he will be in Palo Alto, home to Meta’s headquarters, on Monday and that the fight might take place in the Octagon, an octagonal arena where cage fights are held.
“I didn’t practice much, except for a short game with[computer scientist and podcaster]Lex Friedman today,” Mr. Musk continued.
He said, “While I think it’s highly unlikely, given our size difference, you might be the modern-day Bruce Lee and win in some way.”
Elon Musk, 52, and Mark Zuckerberg, 39, are two of the world’s most famous tech billionaires.
The bizarre idea of a fight began in June, when Musk tweeted that he was “willing to have a cage fight” with Zuckerberg.
The head of the Mita company – who receives training in mixed martial arts and recently won the “Jiu-Jitsu” self-defense courses – answered with approval, saying, “Show me the location of the fight.”
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