Wait, Mark Zuckerberg Is Jacked? Newly Posted Photo Shows He's Feeling Ready to Rumble With Elon Musk. Will the battle between two tech giants move from bratty posts to actual punches?
By Dan Bova
The social media slap-fight between billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk about their platforms appears to be escalating — and fast.
On Tuesday, Meta CEO Zuckerberg posted a photo on Instagram, which seemed like a "shots fired" moment at Musk. For weeks, the two have been trading barbs on social media and threatening to get physical IRL. And this photo, taken after a training session with MMA stars Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski, shows that the Facebook founder might be ready to seriously Zuck Elon up.
"No fugazi with Mark. This is serious business," Adesanya commented, to which Zuckerberg responded, "It's an honor to train with you guys!"
This comes after Zuckerberg took up an open invitation from UFC champion Georges St-Pierre to learn to do to Elon Musk's face what Facebook has done to all of our privacy.
Abs aren't the only thing Zuckerberg has to brag about these days. His Twitter competitor (or copy?), Threads, hit 100 million sign-ups in its first five days, a platform growth rate not seen since…ever. After reportedly taking a $71 billion dollar hit to his personal wealth in 2022, that must feel extra good.
Related: Mark Zuckerberg Wins Gold At Jiu-Jitsu Tournament: Video
And while some doubt the two tech titans will actually take part in a physical battle, Musk appears to be no stranger to putting in some work as well. On July 3, podcaster Lex Fridman posted a photo of himself, Musk, Georges St. Pierre and MMA instructor John Danaher after a training session.
Had a great training session with @elonmusk, @GeorgesStPierre, and John Danaher last night. Everything about this was epic! pic.twitter.com/SkQLA0sYwI
— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) July 3, 2023
Dana White, the president of the UFC, has said that he is ready, willing, and able to set up a pay-per-view brawl, but as of now, no fisticuffs have been scheduled. Well, unless you count a lawsuit. Per Variety's reporting, a cease-and-desist letter was sent to Zuckerberg over the launch of Threads.
One of Twitter's lawyers commented that Meta "has engaged in systematic, willful and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property." The letter went on to state that "Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights, and demands that Meta take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information."
Them's fighting words!
