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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 might. 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 changing into clearer what the holdup could also be: Mr. Musk.
On Sunday, Mr. Zuckerberg, chief govt of Meta, mentioned that he instructed the 2 males take part in an final preventing match on Aug. 26, however that Mr. Musk — who owns X, the corporate previously referred to as Twitter — had but to verify the date.
Mr. Zuckerberg’s feedback adopted an early-morning post 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 afterward Sunday in a publish 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 current 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 maintain 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 needs to place as an “the whole lot app” akin to these in style 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 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 Preventing Championship. It appeared as if the struggle “may really occur,” Mr. Musk later mentioned in a web-based dialogue.
However these talks seem to have stalled in current weeks, whilst Mr. Musk often joked on-line that he was training for the match with friends. In response, Mr. Zuckerberg posted photographs 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 a substitute that they do it on a platform that was “extra dependable” and capable of immediately increase cash for charity. (Mr. Musk’s platform suffered technical points and glitches over the previous 12 months, 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 mentioned on Sunday. “I like this sport and can proceed competing with individuals who practice it doesn’t matter what occurs right here.”
Ryan Mac contributed reporting.
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