Both Musk and Zuckerberg understand the importance of the attention economy. Historically, the net worth of tech billionaires has depended not only on disruptive technology, but also on how cool people think they are.
The two men together reached $340 billion, but they fought like boys.
One is 51 years old and one is 39 years old. One owns Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter, one founded Meta (formerly Facebook) and owns Instagram and WhatsApp. Now the two men are claiming on the Internet that they will engage in "cage fights," that is, hand-to-hand combat in enclosed spaces surrounded by iron cages. The two men together reached $340 billion, but they fought like boys.
It's true. On June 21, local time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he would start an iron cage fight with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Later, Zuckerberg responded on his social platform Instagram: "Send me the location." Musk then proposed a duel in the "Las Vegas Octagon" in a tweet. "Octagon" is the official name for the mixed martial arts cage used by the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
After several rounds of verbal battles between the two on social media, UFC president Dana White asserted in an interview with entertainment outlet TMZ that "the two are absolutely serious" and that he "probably spent an hour and a half" talking on the phone with the world's two best-known tech billionaires, only to find that neither of them joked about the proposal.
However, there are doubts about whether this match will actually happen. Musk's mother, Maye Musk, said on Twitter that Musk and Zuckerberg would not fight, "I canceled the fight, I haven't told them yet."
In any case, to some extent, Musk and Zuckerberg have reaped the publicity benefits by talking about martial arts. The US explanatory news website Vox commented that this common attention attraction is an attempt to distract attention from the news they want to bury: just before the cage news broke, Meta announced that it would shut down access to news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada because Canada passed the Online News Act, which requires technology companies to pay media for content. Meanwhile, Musk's reputation plummeted last year, with data from consulting agency Morning Consult at the end of 2022 showing that his approval rating among American adults fell by 13 percentage points, and even Tesla's reputation was damaged by his actions.
At the same time, such online bickering also seems to reflect the vanity of Musk and Zuckerberg. Nate Wilcox, owner of Bloody Elbow, a news website that covers combat sports, said the younger generation of mixed martial arts fans "would like to be billionaire fans." Musk has done similar things to win media attention, such as smoking marijuana on podcasts or appointing his dog as Twitter's CEO. Zuckerberg, on the other hand, cut his hair like Caesar and once said he adored him. "I don't think the narcissistic factor should be underestimated." Wilcox said.
Musk once smoked marijuana in interviews.
How many real contradictions are there?
Musk's contradiction with Zuckerberg has some historical origins. In 2016, a failed launch of a SpaceX rocket carrying Facebook's satellites destroyed satellites Facebook had been planning to provide internet service in parts of Africa. Zuckerberg publicly said he was "very disappointed." Since then, the relationship between the two has begun to become a little cold.
Musk has publicly stated that social media apps like Instagram have had a negative impact on mental health. Zuckerberg hasn't tweeted in more than a decade. Musk deleted Tesla and SpaceX Facebook pages following the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal in which Facebook user data was misused by a private data company linked to the Trump campaign.
During the recent AI boom, Musk has frequently warned that AI is devastating to humanity. Zuckerberg said that Musk always describes the apocalyptic scene, which is "very negative" and "very irresponsible".
Regardless of the personal relationship between the two, the fight is actually related to the competition of two similar businesses. Last year, Musk entered the social media space by acquiring Twitter. In March, Tech's self-media "platform" reported that Meta was developing a text-based social media app similar to Twitter. One Meta executive boasted that their version would "run wild," seemingly mocking Musk's move that has sparked ridicule since taking over Twitter. Musk referred to the comment before suggesting martial arts, writing on Twitter: "I believe the earth can't wait to be completely under Zach's thumb and there is no other option." ”
True, the total market capitalization of Meta's apps reached nearly $740 billion, with 3.8 billion monthly active users. By comparison, Twitter's market capitalization was around $41 billion before Musk took it private, with about 368 million monthly active users in 2022. But the rhetoric is also classic Musk-esque, positioning himself as an advocate for all, promising to create an equal, free-speech town square that stands up against tyrants.
Who wins in martial arts?
It's hard to predict who will win either Musk or Zuckerberg. Wilcox told Vox: "Whenever there are amateur, non-athletes trying to play combat sports, it's always a mess. "You really don't know what to expect because you've never seen these guys fight in competition before."
For his part, Zuckerberg's closest ability to martial arts was getting a white belt in a low-level amateur competition in Jiu-Jitsu. He has also posted photos of him wearing camouflage vests, saying that he participates in the CrossFit Murphy challenge every year, carrying a 20-pound weight bag, completing 300 squats, 200 push-ups and 100 pull-ups, and running 1 mile, which he completed in 40 minutes this year. That could give him a slight advantage over Musk, who never seems to have had such training. Zuckerberg is also 12 years younger than Musk, suggesting that he may be more agile, which has some in the MMA (mixed martial arts) world betting on him.
Zuckerberg posted photos of him wearing a camouflage vest.
But Musk is bigger, although he has recently lost weight, which is a big advantage in MMA. "I have a very powerful move, which I call 'walrus', just lying on top of my opponent and doing nothing." He wrote on Twitter. Musk's weight is estimated to be 187 pounds (about 84 kilograms), and Zuckerberg weighs less than 154 pounds (about 70 kilograms).
Musk tweeted about his "walrus" move.
While neither may have the skills to knock each other down, it's still going to be a not-so-good-looking fight, reminiscent of some celebrity boxing matches in the early 21st century. For example, Ron Palillo, a sitcom star famous in the '70s, was beaten particularly badly by TV actor Dustin Diamond, which Wilcox described as "The Romans put elephants in gladiator cages with lions, and elephants performed sad scenes when they were bitten to death, so much so that spectators in the crowded Colosseum felt sick to their stomachs." ”
In addition, if Musk and Zuckerberg duel in the UFC, the match must comply with regulatory rules, which may include safety requirements such as head guards.
"The only fight outcome I can assure you is that both will embarrass themselves and if one of them has a clear physical advantage over the other, it's not pleasant to watch unless you enjoy watching the beatings," Wilcox said. ”
Still, the UFC seems looking to seize the opportunity to boost its popularity. White said he would charge $100 for the Musk-Zuckerberg match.
Can the hype continue?
Vox believes that both Musk and Zuckerberg understand the importance of the attention economy. Historically, the net worth of tech billionaires has depended not only on disruptive technology, but also on how cool people think they are.
Musk has long portrayed an image of a genius like Apple founder Steve Jobs on the Internet. By contrast, Zuckerberg has never gained much popularity, especially after the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. As the Meta metaverse strategy does not go well, Zuckerberg gradually becomes a somewhat embarrassing image and is ridiculed as an online meme.
There are a lot of memes of two people dating on the Internet.
Vox writes that tech companies often explode at breakneck speeds, such as the rapid rise of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the past 6 months. But they can sometimes decline quickly, with Sam Bankman-Fried arrested and Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of tech medical company Theranos, just starting 11 years in prison. Silicon Valley stars rise and fall at the speed of light, much of which depends on the hype. In retrospect, why did anyone believe Holmes' lies? Why didn't anyone take a closer look at Bankman Fried and his crypto enterprise FTX earlier? When celebrities with large audiences and shrouded in aura say something, the audience is likely to credulously or even flatter them.
In other words, "influence" is a considerable asset, especially for CEOs and founders in the tech industry. Musk and Zuckerberg know that when attention is focused on them, it usually makes them richer and more influential.
Only, will this practice always work? At least some of the media are sober. On June 22, the CEOs of Apple, Google and Microsoft discussed artificial intelligence with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House, and the US financial technology media Insider reported that they "appeared in the room [of the White House] as Silicon Valley adults", while Musk and Zuckerberg were absent from the dinner, and they "should feel a little embarrassed by now."
On June 22, local time, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his partner Oliver Mulherin attended a White House dinner to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On June 22, local time, Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a White House dinner to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.