Mark Zuckerberg seems to have accepted Elon Musk’s cage fight challenge after the couple’s most recent online spat.
The two are among the richest people in the world, with Musk recently becoming the richest man in the world.
Their “beef” dates back to 2016, when Zuckerberg was unimpressed by Musk’s SpaceX failure to launch an internet satellite.
Since then, they haven’t been subtle in their jokes about artificial intelligence (AI) or missiles.
Discover all the stages of this little feud below.
Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly ‘serious’ about fighting his tech rival after seemingly agreeing to a showdown in the octagon
Elon Musk responded to Zuckerberg’s latest business developments by challenging Meta’s CEO to a ‘cage match’
Musk’s chances are already being questioned by onlookers online citing Zuckerberg’s jiu-jitsu background as a reason to support the Facebook billionaire
September 2016
The conflict began in September 2016, after Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket was supposed to launch a satellite into space.
The AMOS-6 satellite was owned by Internet.org, which in turn was owned by Zuckerberg and Facebook, and was intended to provide Internet coverage to parts of Africa.
However, the Falcon 9 Rocked exploded during tests on Sept. 1 days before its scheduled launch due to an “anomaly,” taking the satellite with it.
Commenting on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg wrote that he was “deeply disappointed” by the destruction of the satellite that “would have provided connectivity to so many,” in a sharp statement.
It took Musk two years to respond directly to the comments, saying it was “my fault for being an idiot.”
2017
The following year, the pair became embroiled in a war of words over AI, starting with Zuckerberg labeling the Twitter CEO’s negativity on the subject as “pretty irresponsible” during a Facebook livestream.
But the Tesla man was quick to respond by saying Zuckerberg’s knowledge of the subject was “limited” and claimed the two discussed it together.
At the time, Musk was known for his reluctance to embrace AI due to job fears, while Zuckerberg believed in its ability to help humanity become safer and healthier.
Zuckerberg labeled the Twitter CEO’s negativity about AI “pretty irresponsible” during a 2017 Facebook live stream
March 2018
The next development came another year later, when Musk publicly deleted his company’s Facebook profiles because the social media network was embroiled in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The SpaceX and Tesla pages were both taken down, after Musk claimed he previously “didn’t know there was one.”
However, Musk insisted that it was not a political statement, but that Facebook “gives me the creeps.”
February 2020
Musk responded to a tweet from actor Sacha Baron Cohen calling for greater regulation of Facebook by urging people to remove the app.
Baron Cohen’s tweet asked, “Why are we letting one man control the information that 2.5 million people see?”
January 2021
After the Jan. 6 riots at the Washington Capitol, Musk shared content linking the chaos to Facebook.
On the night of the attack, Musk shared an image of a set of dominoes with the former labeled “a website to assess women on campus,” referring to Facebook’s invention at Harvard University, and the latter referring to the rioters .
He also tweeted again about Facebook’s history of data sharing, sharing a meme suggesting that Facebook is “spying” on its users in response to news that Facebook and WhatsApp accounts would be required to share data after the acquisition of the messaging platform.
April 2022
While Musk was in talks to take over Twitter in 2022, he found time to take aim at Facebook’s CEO, mocking his control over Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The jab was in response to a question as to whether it was dangerous for him, the richest man in the world at the time, to take over such a powerful platform.
Must say Zuckerberg was “worse” and jokingly referred to him as the “Sun King.”
Musk targeted Zuckerberg for his ownership of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in 2022 when he tried to buy Twitter
May 2023
Earlier this year, Musk again fired at Zuckerberg, saying that “WhatsApp cannot be trusted” over claims that the app listened to its users.
A user of the app had tweeted that the messaging app had accessed their phone’s microphone overnight.
However, WhatsApp said it was due to an Android bug, and Google acknowledged that fact.
This incident did not come after Musk again criticized Zuckerberg, this time for his donations to the Democratic party.
June 20
Details emerged about Zuckerberg’s Meta planning to launch a rival to Twitter called “Threads” in an effort to capitalize on the chaos caused by Musk’s ownership of Twitter.
Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox told Meta employees they heard of a desire for “a platform that breaks down in a healthy way.”
Musk was not happy with the suggestion that Zuckerberg-owned Meta launch a rival to Twitter called ‘Threads’
21st of June
Musk responded to the reports, saying that “I’m sure Earth can’t wait,” saying that people would “run out of other options.”
A follower responded, warning Musk that he was so hostile given the Meta CEO’s jiu-jitsu background.
Musk seemed unphased, saying, “I’m up for a cage match if he is.”
June 22
Zuckerberg shared a screenshot of Musk’s invitation to fight on his Instagram story and said “send me location,” echoing UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, indicating that the fight could begin.
Musk agreed and suggested a UFC octagon in Las Vegas.
If the numbers involved weren’t divisive enough, Andrew Tate, recently indicted on rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, waded in to offer his services to Musk as his trainer.
The former kickboxer tweeted, “Meta banned me everywhere… But now we can restore the honor.”
Tate has the small problem that he is under house arrest awaiting a possible trial which could thwart this, however.
