Elon Musk biographer Walter Isaacson says cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg won't happen: 'It's a metaphor'
- Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have tacitly challenged each other to a fight.
- Musk biographer Walter Isaacson doubts any fight will become a reality.
The odds that Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg fight in a cage match are nil, according to Musk's biographer Walter Isaacson.
The silly talk began when Musk a couple of weeks ago said he would fight Zuckerberg, who has recently gotten very into jiu-jitsu. Zuckerberg seemed to take the comment seriously, and posted on Instagram that all Musk needed to do was "send me location."
The prospect of a fight has become something of a fantasy scenario among the too-online masses. Musk can't seem to step away from confrontations, despite admitting he's not in shape for such a physical clash. Isaacson sees the whole situation as more symbolic of the growing rivalry between two of the wealthiest men in the world.
"All this talk about going to the Colosseum for a cage match with Mark Zuckerberg, it's more of a metaphor for his struggle with Meta and Zuckerberg — I don't know if that will really happen, no," Isaacson said on Wednesday. The author, who has a biography of Musk coming out in September, was discussing in a Twitter Spaces his impressions of Musk and his time following the Tesla billionaire for the book.
"I've seen him eat, he's doing that intermittent fasting," Isaacson added. "We go to the Palo Alto Creamery, when he can have his one meal, he orders a cheeseburger with bacon, a large sundae, sweet potato fries. He's not in hyper training mode, I would say."
Isaacson pointed to Threads, the Twitter-like app Zuckerberg is set to launch, as another element of the rivalry between the two. The author noted that Musk has put his "finger on the scale" of Twitter and "frightened off" notable people and media brands, from PBS to John Meecham. This could weigh in the favor of a new app that is able to avoid being such an "echo chamber" and remain "fun" for users.
"Elon loves the contention, he loves mixing it up with the fights on Twitter, but I think the Meta competitor will cause him to focus on 'How do I retain the broadest possible user base here,'" Isaacson said. "His greatest fear is if Twitter becomes an echo chamber of one ideology."
Despite his bravado on social media, it's unclear whether Musk is taking the cage fight seriously. The billionaire did take part in an hours-long "impromptu" training session with podcaster Lex Fridman. Last week, Fridman posted several photos of the two men training in martial arts.
"I'm extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill, on the feet and on the ground," Fridman tweeted. "It was epic."
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg has been getting shredded and training in jiu-jitsu long before the prospect of a potential matchup with Musk. The Meta CEO won some medals at a jiu-jitsu tournament earlier this year.
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