In a now-viral back-and-forth seen on Twitter and Instagram this week, the two tech billionaires seemingly agreed to a “cage match” face off.
It all started when Musk, who owns Twitter, responded to a tweet about Meta reportedly preparing to release a new Twitter rival called “Threads.” He took a dig about the world becoming “exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options" — but then one Twitter user jokingly warned Musk of Zuckerberg's jiu jitsu training.
“I’m up for a cage match if he is lol,” Musk wrote late Tuesday.
Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms, soon responded — and appeared to agree to Musk's proposal.
“Send me location,” Zuckerberg wrote on a Wednesday night Instagram story, which showed a screenshot of Musk's tweet alongside another user's response urging the Twitter owner to “start training.”
Zuckerberg is actually trained in mixed martial arts. The Facebook founder posted about completing his first jiu jitsu tournament last month.
In response to Zuckerberg’s location request on Wednesday, Musk proposed the Vegas Octagon. He then joked about his fighting skills and workout routine, suggesting that the fight may not be serious.
“I have this great move that I call ‘The Walrus’, where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing,” Musk wrote.
Whether or not Musk and Zuckerberg actually make it to the ring has yet to be seen — especially as Musk often tweets about action prematurely or without following through. But, even if their cage match agreement is all a joke, the banter gained attention. An endless chain of memes and posts to “choose your fighter” have sprung up in response.
“The story speaks for itself,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to The Associated Press. Zuckerberg has not commented further.
Despite the uncertainity of a cage match actually happening, bids are already being placed for a projected winner. DraftKings' projected odds stood at 140+ for Musk and -160 for Zuckerberg on Thursday.
The Associated Press also reached out to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which owns the Octagon, and Twitter for statements. Twitter's press email responded with a poop emoji, its standard automated response to reporters.
The growth of the metaverse is bringing new challenges to managing safe, diverse communities. Helping Cheddar kick off Women's History Month, Tiffany Xingyu Wang, chief marketing officer for AI-powered content moderation company Spectrum Labs, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss how platforms can help create safer, more inclusive online communities in the metaverse and about her own experience as a woman in technology. "Trust is really the new digital transformation, and it should not be a siloed task solely belonging to chief security officers, to privacy officers, or the people who were given the task of trust and safety," she said. "It should be a priority for all the C suite and a whole company to rally around."
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Vision Marine Technologies CEO discusses how e-boats will play a role in the fight against the climate crisis; Lasso CEO breaks down how the design behind these compression socks can prevent injuries and improve performance; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Tombs Of Egypt.'
Catriona Campbell, CTIO, UK and Ireland, EY, joins Cheddar News to discuss how business leaders can bridge the gap between their technology investments and their aspirations, and breaks down the human aspects of A.I.
Bamboo-based toilet paper company Cloud Paper raised $5 million in a recent funding round. Its product is a bamboo-based alternative to traditional toilet paper made from trees, and its mission is to end the deforestation caused by traditional paper products. Cloud Paper says the raise will allow it to make significant investments in its supply chain, product development, and hiring. Ryan Fritsch, a co-founder of Cloud Paper, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The Biden Administration has now issued new guidelines when it comes to carbon capture. The new guidelines handed down this week encouraged the widespread use of climate attacks that traps and stores carbon emissions. The goal here is the process would help keep carbon out of the atmosphere without requiring a whole lot of change by big companies and manufacturing plants. Several scientists say that this method would be crucial to help us decrease the use of carbon emissions by the year 2050. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, Mark Jacobson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
