Elon Musk says he may need surgery before proposed ‘cage match’ with Mark Zuckerberg
The Hindu
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg agree to a potential "cage match" in late June. Musk says he may need surgery before the fight, and proceeds would go to veterans' charity. Zuckerberg is trained in mixed martial arts and Musk is lifting weights to prepare. The date is still in flux, and it's unclear if the fight will actually happen. Memes and posts to "choose your fighter" have sprung up in response.
Elon Musk says he may need to get surgery before a proposed “cage match” with Mark Zuckerberg.
The two tech billionaires seemingly agreed to an in-person face-off in late June. It's unclear if a physical fight will actually end up happening, but Mr. Musk and Mr. Zuckerberg have continued to fuel interest in the potential match through online jabs at one another — most recently on Sunday, when Mr. Musk said the fight would be live-streamed on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mr. Musk added that the fight's proceeds would go to a charity for veterans. On his Threads social media account, Mr. Zuckerberg responded: “Shouldn't we use a more reliable platform that can actually raise money for charity?" In a follow-up post, the CEO of Facebook's parent company Meta said he wasn't “holding his breath” for a fight.
“I'm ready today. I suggested Aug 26 when he first challenged, but he hasn't confirmed," wrote Mr. Zuckerberg, who is actually trained in mixed martial arts and posted about completing his first jiu jitsu tournament earlier this year. "I love this sport and will continue competing with people who train no matter what happens here.”
Earlier Sunday, Mr. Musk said he was training for the fight by lifting weights. He later addressed the timing of the fight — noting the date “is still in flux" due to a scheduled MRI and the potential of surgery.
"I'm getting an MRI of my neck & upper back tomorrow," Mr. Musk wrote Sunday night. "May require surgery before the fight can happen. Will know this week."
Talk of an in-person fight all started in June, when Mr. Musk, who owns X, responded to a tweet about Meta 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 Mr. Musk of Mr. Zuckerberg's jiu jitsu training.