What happens when the world’s biggest keyboard warriors vow to take it to the streets? Well, we might be closer to finding out than ever thanks to a recent online exchange between tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
The saga began on Tuesday when a tweet about Facebook potentially developing a Twitter competitor garnered the ire of Musk, who replied, “I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options. At least it will be ‘sane’. Was worried there for a moment.”
In response, a lone Twitter user cautioned that Musk should “be careful,” as Zuckerberg “does the ju jitsu now.”
Not one to miss an opportunity for attention, the Twitter CEO replied, “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.”
Zuckerberg, who seems determined to let the world know that he’s training in jiu-jitsu, shot back on Wednesday on Instagram stories with the text “Send Me Location” over a screenshot of Musk’s tweet.
After a Twitter user shared Zuckerberg’s comeback to Twitter, Musk tweeted, “If this is for real, I will do it.”
On Wednesday evening, The Verge’s deputy editor, Alex Heath, said he “confirmed that Zuckerberg’s post on his Instagram account is, in fact, not a joke, which means the ball is now in Musk’s court.” A Meta spokesperson told the outlet, “The story speaks for itself.”
While it’s still undetermined whether the pair will actually settle their differences in the ring, they are currently in competition for which tech CEO can blow the most billions and make their workers suffer the consequences. As Musk slashed half of Twitter’s staff back in November and blamed “activists” for Twitter’s revenue plummeting, Zuckerberg announced that Meta would lay off 13 percent of its global workforce, totaling about 11,000 people — a result that may have something to do with its $20 billion loss on the unpopular metaverse project.