For months, the chatter in Silicon Valley has centered on whether or not Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk would really take part in a “cage match” as they mentioned they’d. However after a flurry of exercise and guarantees from either side, it regarded as if the momentum behind the mega-mogul face-off had fizzled out.
It’s turning into clearer what the holdup could also be: Mr. Musk.
Mr. Zuckerberg, chief govt of Meta, mentioned on Sunday on Threads, his new social media app, that he advised the 2 males take part in an final combating match on Aug. 26. However, he added, Mr. Musk — who owns X, the corporate previously often known as Twitter — had but to verify the date.
Mr. Zuckerberg’s feedback adopted an early-morning put up on X from Mr. Musk, who mentioned that he deliberate to livestream the cage match on X in addition to increase cash for charity by way of the platform.
“I’m not holding my breath,” Mr. Zuckerberg mentioned in his put up to Threads, a rival platform he rolled out final month that some had known as the Twitter killer.
The 2 billionaires have engaged in a back-and-forth sport of each skilled and private one-upsmanship for a lot of the previous 10 years. That rivalry has solely elevated in latest months, as Mr. Zuckerberg rapidly spun up Threads after he witnessed the difficulties Mr. Musk had in his takeover of Twitter.
Threads noticed an early burst of enthusiasm, breaking information for the quickest variety of downloads for any app in historical past in its first week. The corporate mentioned it should now deal with including new options that preserve folks coming again because the preliminary pleasure has cooled. That has put strain on Mr. Musk to proceed introducing new options to X, which he has indicated he wants to position as an “every part app” akin to these well-liked in China, Japan and South Korea.
Their brinkmanship got here to a head in June, when Mr. Musk, in a reply to somebody on Twitter, mentioned that he would combat Mr. Zuckerberg in a bodily cage match. The subsequent day, Mr. Zuckerberg confirmed he was greater than prepared, and the 2 males entered into talks presided over by Dana White, president of the Final Combating Championship. It appeared as if the combat “may really occur,” Mr. Musk later mentioned in an internet dialogue.
However these talks seem to have stalled in latest weeks, at the same time as Mr. Musk often joked on-line that he was coaching for the match with associates. In response, Mr. Zuckerberg posted pictures of his personal coaching routine with skilled Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters. In July, Mr. Zuckerberg posted a photograph of himself shirtless after a coaching match, boasting a newly chiseled physique and affirming his zeal for the game.
A spokesperson for Meta declined to remark. Mr. Musk didn’t reply to a request for remark.
On Sunday, Mr. Zuckerberg mentioned that Mr. Musk’s proposal to stream the combat on X didn’t appear prudent, suggesting as a substitute that they do it on a platform that was “extra dependable” and capable of straight increase cash for charity. (Mr. Musk’s platform suffered technical points and glitches over the previous yr, together with issues when he livestreamed his look with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who used Twitter to announce his candidacy for president.)
“I’m prepared in the present day,” Mr. Zuckerberg said on Sunday. “I like this sport and can proceed competing with individuals who prepare it doesn’t matter what occurs right here.”
Ryan Mac contributed reporting.
