The bosses of Meta (Facebook) and X (ex-Twitter) again broke through via an intermediary platform on Sunday. Since the end of June, the two billionaires have talked about holding a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight, supposed to confront them in the flesh. The two tech giants have clashed for years over their opposing views of the world, from politics to artificial intelligence, and their animosity seems to have increased in early July with the launch of Threads, a direct competitor to X, ex– Twitter.

Will the duel between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk take place? The billionaires, respectively owners of Meta (Facebook) and X (ex-Twitter), have been talking about a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight since the end of June, the date of August 26 having even been suggested. Failing to have concretized their joust in the immediate future, the two men are torn apart especially by interposed platform.

“I think we can all agree that Elon isn’t serious and it’s time to move on,” Mark Zuckerberg wrote Sunday on Threads, a direct competitor to X, launched last month by Meta.

“I offered a real date (…) Elon did not confirm the date, then said he had to have surgery, and now he is asking for a training session in my garden instead” , he continued.

Musk fantasizes about a fight in Rome…

Elon Musk immediately replied on his X platform: “Zuck is a wimp”. Then he announced that he would be going to Silicon Valley on Monday before boasting: “I can’t wait to knock on his door tomorrow.” In response to an X user who suspected him of not being so determined for the fight anymore, Elon Musk wrote: “He (Zuckerberg) can’t eat at Chick-fil-A, that would be cannibalism”, in reference to a chain of restaurants serving poultry.

The idea of this hypothetical fight seemed to take shape on Friday August 11. Elon Musk has indeed announced on X a kind of peplum in Italy. “I spoke to the Italian Prime Minister and the Minister of Culture. They have given their agreement for an extraordinary place, ”he said, adding a single word in a second message: “Gladiator”. Elon Musk also mentioned Friday a “minor operation” for a “problem with (his) right shoulder blade rubbing against (his) ribs”. “Recovery will only take a few months,” he added.

… but the Italian authorities say no

Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano confirmed he spoke to Elon Musk about “how to organize a big charity event that evokes history”. On the other hand, he indicated that no match “would be held in Rome”, thus ruling out the possibility of a fight at the Colosseum, mentioned since the end of June by Elon Musk.

The idea of this hypothetical fight seemed to take shape on Friday August 11. Elon Musk has indeed announced on X a kind of peplum in Italy. “I spoke to the Italian Prime Minister and the Minister of Culture. They have given their agreement for an extraordinary place, ”he said, adding a single word in a second message: “Gladiator”. Elon Musk also mentioned Friday a “minor operation” for a “problem with (his) right shoulder blade rubbing against (his) ribs”. “Recovery will only take a few months,” he added.

… but the Italian authorities say no

Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano confirmed he spoke to Elon Musk about “how to organize a big charity event that evokes history”. On the other hand, he indicated that no match “would be held in Rome”, thus ruling out the possibility of a fight at the Colosseum, mentioned since the end of June by Elon Musk.

“I love this sport and I’ve been ready to fight since Elon challenged me,” Mark Zuckerberg replied later that day on Threads. On the other hand, the two billionaires do not seem to be in agreement on the terms of this game. Mark Zuckerberg explained that he wanted to collaborate “with professional organizations” such as the UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts league, to supervise this possible duel.

The two tech giants have clashed for years over their opposing views of the world, from politics to artificial intelligence. The animosity between the two men went up a notch with the launch in early July by Mark Zuckerberg and his Meta group (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram) of Threads, a direct competitor to Twitter, now X, suffering for several months from decisions contested strategies.

Twitter ad revenue plummets

Twitter saw its ad revenue halve. “We are still in a negative cash flow situation, due to a drop of around 50% in advertising revenues and the heavy debt load”, confirmed Elon Musk on Saturday August 12, on his social network. He did not specify in how long this decline had taken place. “We have to get to positive cash flow before we have the luxury of doing anything else,” he added.

“I love this sport and I’ve been ready to fight since Elon challenged me,” Mark Zuckerberg replied later that day on Threads. On the other hand, the two billionaires do not seem to be in agreement on the terms of this game. Mark Zuckerberg explained that he wanted to collaborate “with professional organizations” such as the UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts league, to supervise this possible duel.

The two tech giants have clashed for years over their opposing views of the world, from politics to artificial intelligence. The animosity between the two men went up a notch with the launch in early July by Mark Zuckerberg and his Meta group (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram) of Threads, a direct competitor to Twitter, now X, suffering for several months from decisions contested strategies.

Twitter ad revenue plummets

Twitter saw its ad revenue halve. “We are still in a negative cash flow situation, due to a drop of around 50% in advertising revenues and the heavy debt load”, confirmed Elon Musk on Saturday August 12, on his social network. He did not specify in how long this decline had taken place. “We have to get to positive cash flow before we have the luxury of doing anything else,” he added.