It may not be the next “Battle of the Century,” but Elon Musk’s coming fight with Mark Zuckerberg will have plenty of viewers. The owner of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, announced the showdown will be live-streamed.
Musk posted early Sunday morning on X, “Zuck v. Musk fight will be live-streamed on X. All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.”
The billionaire entrepreneur, who is 52 years old, said he is exercising daily to prepare for his brawl with the 39-year-old Zuckerberg. He reported lifting weights at work since he does not “have time to work out” elsewhere. Musk said he brings his weights to the job.
The unlikely showdown began taking shape in June when Musk posted, “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.” This came on the heels of the announcement that Facebook parent Meta was releasing Threads, a rival to the platform then known as Twitter.
Threads enjoyed an initial surge in interest before falling dramatically in recent weeks.
It's happening!
Elon Musk announced his fight with Mark Zuckerberg will be live streamed on X — with all proceeds benefitting a charity for veterans.
So… who you got? 👊https://t.co/H2kS0qL8Hm
— OutKick (@Outkick) August 6, 2023
Musk earlier threatened a lawsuit after accusing Zuckerberg’s Meta of utilizing X’s “trade secrets” and “other intellectual property” to get Threads off the ground.
Zuckerberg, who is a martial arts enthusiast, accepted the challenge and asked for a location. There is no date set for the brawl, though a location has been proposed. The two may square off in Nevada’s UFC Apex.
Musk, apparently realizing his likely role as the underdog, wrote at the time, “If this is real, I will do it.” He later voiced tongue-in-cheek praise for a move he dubbed “The Walrus,” which he described as lying on top of the opponent and doing nothing.
Both combatants brought in heavy artillery to prepare for the bout. Zuckerberg is training with UFC champion Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski, and Musk is working with UFC legend Georges St. Pierre and podcaster Lex Friedman.
There were questions over whether the fight would materialize, but UFC President Dana White described the tech billionaires as “absolutely dead serious.”
Interviewed by TMZ, White labeled the showdown as “the biggest fight ever in the history of the world. Bigger than anything that’s ever been done, it would break all pay-per-view records, these guys would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity.”
