Elon Musk Vs. Mark Zuckerberg: The Bizarre Feud, Explained Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have been making passive-aggressive jabs at each other for several years, but the feud between the two tech titans has become increasingly childish, with Musk tweeting “Zuck is a cuck.” Musk boasts an estimated net worth of $245.6 billion, while Zuckerberg’s net worth is estimated at $108.7 billion; the two billionaires have expressed serious intent to end their feud in a cage match. But how did it come to this? How did the feud between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg begin? The feud was sparked in September 2016 after a collaboration between the two billionaires went down in flames, quite literally, as Zuckerberg’s $200 million satellite exploded in a pre-launch test accident on one of Musk’s SpaceX rockets. After the explosion, Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook that he was “deeply disappointed" that “SpaceX’s launch failure destroyed our satellite.” About a year later, Zuckerberg took a not-so-subtle jab at Musk during a public Facebook Live stream by criticizing “irresponsible” artificial intelligence “naysayers” who “try to drum up these doomsday scenarios.” Musk responded dismissively to Zuckerberg’s AI commentary on Twitter: “I've talked to Mark about this. His understanding of the subject is limited.” Musk Deletes Facebook In 2018, Musk took the feud a step further by mocking Facebook on Twitter. Musk then joined the #DeleteFacebook movement, a protest prompted by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and deleted the official Facebook pages of SpaceX and Tesla, writing that Tesla’s page "looked lame anyway.” Minutes later, Musk acknowledged the SpaceX explosion that had destroyed Zuckerberg’s satellite and even admitted fault, but noted that they had given Facebook “a free launch to make up for it.” Musk never reinstated the deleted Facebook accounts, leaving the Facebook presence of himself and his companies to fan pages and parodies. On Twitter, Musk still hates Facebook In 2020, Musk responded to a post from comedian Sacha Baron Cohen which criticized the amount of power and influence wielded by Zuckerberg through Facebook. At this point, Musk was two years away from purchasing Twitter and in his response to the post, he urged the public to delete Facebook because “it’s lame.” During the January 6th riot of 2021, Musk posted a meme attributing the chaos to Facebook. The meme contains a description of the infamous “QAnon Shaman” and notes Facebook’s origin as “a website to rate women on campus,” a reference to Zuckerberg’s proto-Facebook site, Facemash. In an ironic twist, Musk would later express support for the “QAnon Shaman” on Twitter. Mark Zuckerberg compliments Elon Musk Musk’s chaotic reign as Twitter CEO has sparked scathing criticism, but Zuckerberg has been cautious when addressing the situation. On June 8, Zuckerberg appeared on AI researcher Lex Fridman’s podcast (who is a friend of Musk), where he was asked what he thought Musk was doing right at Twitter. After a long pause, Zuckerberg praised Musk's willingness to fire employees and to make Twitter “leaner,” noting that Musk had emboldened other tech leaders to do the same. “It was probably good for the industry that he made those changes,” Zuckerberg said. Musk, however, did not show the same restraint when discussing Zuckerberg. The Cage Match Twitter has been bleeding advertisers under Musk’s mercurial management, creating a niche for a potential rival. Upon hearing rumors of Zuckerberg’s Threads, a direct rival to Twitter, Musk tweeted: “I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb.” Responding to a Twitter user who jokingly warned that Zuckerberg knew jiu-jitsu, Musk wrote that he was up for a “cage match.” The tweet seemed like another one of Musk’s goofy jokes, but Zuckerberg appeared to take the challenge seriously and posted a screenshot on Instagram of Musk's tweet with the caption "send me location.” Musk responded, “Vegas Octagon,” owned by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Two of the world’s richest and most powerful men brawling in a cage for a braying crowd seems absurd, but it is exactly the kind of ridiculous event that would happen in 2023; hence, the internet exploded in anticipation of the fight. Few were as excited as UFC president Dana White, whose eyes lit up with dollar signs; White took the time to call Musk and Zuckerberg and claimed that both billionaires were “dead serious” about the fight. On Instagram, White assured UFC fans that Musk vs. Zuckerberg “wasn’t a gimmick fight.” The totally-not-a-gimmick-fight became a popular topic on Twitter, as commentators seemed to view the brawl as akin to Godzilla vs Kong, or Alien vs. Predator: “Whoever wins, we lose.” As usual, King did not respond to Musk. Musk has been widely disliked across the internet ever since he called a British diver “pedo guy,” and his destructive takeover of Twitter hasn’t rehabilitated his image. But Musk has managed to cultivate a fawning fanbase who earnestly believe him to be an eccentric genius who will lead humanity to the stars. For example, the tweet below is not satirical; it is a sincere post from one of Musk’s fans. Zuckerberg, however, has never really had much of a fanbase; memes, pop culture and internet commentary mock his awkward demeanor and jokingly compare him to an AI-generated hologram, or a robot. However, most seemed to agree that 52-year-old Musk was going to get creamed by 39-year-old Zuckerberg, who has won medals for his skills in jiu-jitsu. Zuckerberg has even completed the “Murph challenge,” which involves running, pull-ups, push-ups and squats while wearing a 20-pound weighted pack. Musk seems aware that he’s comparatively out of shape, tweeting: "I have this great move that I call 'The Walrus', where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing." Musk also tweeted: "I almost never work out, except for picking up my kids & throwing them in the air." Self-deprecating jokes aside, Musk also tried to present himself as a formidable fighter, recently commenting on a martial arts Twitter thread from 2022 to brag about his fighting experience, making sure to mention “no rules streetfighting.” Musk also had a sparring session with Lex Fridman, who claimed to be “extremely impressed” with Musk’s “strength, power, and skill.” Hype around the potential fight unleashed the unique weirdness of Twitter; Elon Musk’s mom, Maye Musk, suggested that the two settle the feud through words rather than violence, declaring that the “funniest person” should win. Self-help author Jordan Peterson tagged Musk in a tweet asking if the two billionaires would fight naked, for some reason, then suggested that there “should definitely be oil involved.” The hype faded as the news cycle moved on; Musk biographer Walter Isaacson has expressed doubt that the fight will take place, describing the cage match as a “metaphor for [Musk’s] struggle with Meta and Zuckerberg.” Threads vs. Twitter The promised cage match seems unlikely to take place, but the feud between the two billionaires is still simmering on social media, exacerbated by the rise of Zuckerberg’s Threads. Musk has been responding to posts and memes mocking Zuckerberg with his trademark cry-laughing emoji, and liking tweets that criticize Threads. For his part, Zuckerberg has taken a few subtle digs at Musk on Threads. After a former Meta engineer posted that the word “Threads” seems censored from Twitter’s Trending tab, Zuckerberg responded with “Concerning” and a cry-laughing emoji, a mocking reference to Musk’s go-to response on Twitter. A Thread post from fast-food chain Wendys suggesting that Zuckerberg take the feud to space earned another cry-laughing emoji from Zuckerberg. A screenshot of the interaction prompted Musk to call Zuckerberg a “cuck,” a common insult in right-wing online spaces, referring to a man who allows his wife to have sex with other men. Musk returned to his “cuck” tweet eight hours later to propose “a literal dick measuring contest.” Many Twitter users mocked Musk, pointing out that Zuckerberg appears to lead a simple, happily married life, in stark contrast to Musk’s erratic online persona. The Threads vs. Twitter rivalry might turn into a legal battle, with Musk accusing Threads of copying Twitter and sending a cease-and-desist letter alleging that Meta hired ex-Twitter employees who used proprietary information to design Threads. Zuckerberg Vs. Musk: Everything We Know About The Possible Cage Fight Antonio Pequeño IVJul 12, 2023, Topline Billionaire tech executives Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk first suggested last month they’d be interested in clashing in a UFC-style cage fight—a seemingly absurd idea that’s largely been laughed off as meaningless banter—but escalating tensions between the two and photos of them training with some of the world’s top fighters has signaled a billionaire brawl could actually become a reality. COMBO-US-TECHNOLOGY-META-TWITTERCOMBO-US-TECHNOLOGY-META-TWITTER Rumblings about a potential fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have persisted since June. ... [+] AFP via Getty Images Key Facts The idea of a cage match was first posed by Musk over Twitter, where the Tesla CEO responded to a thread about Instagram’s then-upcoming rival app Threads, saying, “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.” Zuckerberg responded the next day with an Instagram story showing a screenshot of Musk’s tweet captioned “send me location”—a reference to a famous line from former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. A Meta spokesperson confirmed with The Verge that Zuckerberg was being serious in his response to Musk, saying the Meta CEO’s post spoke for itself. As hype around a potential fight picked up, UFC president Dana White joined in on the anticipation, posting a video of himself sporting a Zuckerberg vs Musk shirt that was made available for purchase on the UFC’s website. White was quoted in a July 1 story from the New York Times saying he would help organize an exhibition match between the tech CEOs and that they both wanted to fight—with both men agreeing there should be a charity component to the bout. On July 3, photos of Musk training with UFC legend Georges St. Pierre, mixed martial arts coach John Danaher and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt Lex Fridman surfaced online—with an Instagram post from St. Pierre showing the four men in training gear. Musk biographer Walter Isaacson later claimed in a Twitter Spaces session that he doubted a fight would happen and that it was “a metaphor” for the competition between the CEOs’ rivaling social media sites. Zuckerberg, who is trained in the grappling combat discipline of Jiu-jitsu, also employed the training services of elite fighting talent in July—made evident by gym photos taken with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski on July 11. As of July 12, an exhibition agreement between Musk and Zuckerberg has yet to materialize. Forbes Business 01:12 Disney Might Sell Off TV Assets Like ABC, CEO Bob Iger Says FTC Investigating ChatGPT Maker OpenAI For Providing False Information In Chat Results Twitter Starts Paying Creators Tens Of Thousands — Amid Intensifying Competition With Threads Biden: Putin ‘Already Lost’ War With Ukraine Ads Are Coming To New York Yankees Uniforms Disney Might Sell Off TV Assets Like ABC, CEOBob Iger Says Tangent In the background of Musk and Zuckerberg fight-related banter, tensions between the two have increased following the launch of Instagram’s Threads platform, a direct competitor to Twitter that launched July 5 and racked up its first 100 million users on July 10. That same day, Musk called Zuckerberg a “cuck” over Twitter and proposed a “dick measuring contest” with him. An attorney for Twitter accused and threatened to sue Meta for allegedly misusing Twitter’s "trade secrets and other intellectual property" and employing former Twitter staffers for help with developing Threads, labeling it as a “copycat” app of Twitter. Big Number -160. That’s the hypothetical line DraftKings set for Zuckerberg to win the match, making him the betting favorite, with bettors needing to wager $160 on Zuckerberg to return a $100 profit. DraftKings set the odds for a Musk upset at +140, meaning a $100 bet would deliver a $140 profit. The sports betting company attributed the lines to Zuckerberg’s younger age and his near-constant physical activity. Key Background A cage match between the tech CEOs might involve some parameters to account for their difference in size. Notably, Musk told White that he would not be willing to “lose any weight” for a potential matchup. Musk, 52, stands around 6’1” tall and has made clear on Twitter that he almost never works out. Zuckerberg, 39, is 5 '7” and regularly takes to physical training and competition, recently securing two medals in his first Jiu-jitsu tournament in May, though he was also choked out in one of his fights, according to the New York Times (Zuckerberg has denied the claim). Zuckerberg also seems to be the more avid fight fan, as he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, attended a UFC fight card last October. Forbes Valuation We estimate Musk is the richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $245.6 billion. Zuckerberg’s net worth is estimated at $108.7 billion—placing him at No. 7 on Forbes’ list of the world’s real-time billionaires.