For months, the chatter in Silicon Valley has centered on whether or not Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk would truly take part in a “cage match” as they mentioned they might. However after a flurry of exercise and guarantees from either side, it seemed 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 government of Meta, mentioned on Sunday on Threads, his new social media app, that he instructed the 2 males take part in an blended martial arts match on Aug. 26. However, he added, Mr. Musk — who owns X, the corporate previously generally known as Twitter — had but to substantiate the date.
Mr. Zuckerberg’s feedback adopted an early-morning submit on X from Mr. Musk, who mentioned that he deliberate to livestream the cage match on X in addition to elevate cash for charity by way of the platform.
“I’m not holding my breath,” Mr. Zuckerberg mentioned in his submit to Threads, a rival platform he rolled out final month that some had referred to as the Twitter killer.
Mr. Musk later mentioned that the date of the struggle was “in flux,” as he deliberate to get an M.R.I. scan of his neck and again. “Might require surgical procedure earlier than the struggle can occur,” he mentioned. Mr. Musk suffered a again damage that required surgical procedure after taking part in an exhibition with a sumo wrestler years in the past.
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 data for the quickest variety of downloads for any app in historical past in its first week. The corporate mentioned it should now concentrate on including new options that hold individuals 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 needs to place as an “every little thing app” akin to these standard 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 struggle Mr. Zuckerberg in a bodily cage match. The following 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 Preventing Championship. It appeared as if the struggle “would possibly truly occur,” Mr. Musk later mentioned in a web-based 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 buddies. In response, Mr. Zuckerberg posted images 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 struggle on X didn’t appear prudent, suggesting as an alternative that they do it on a platform that was “extra dependable” and in a position to straight elevate 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 at the moment,” Mr. Zuckerberg mentioned 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.