Musk Vs. Zuckerberg: Is The Fight Still Going To Happen?

Appearing on an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," guest Elon Musk confirmed to Rogan that he's still willing to fight Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Musk, founder and CEO of rival platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is 52 years old; Zuckerberg is 39. The conversation, which took up about a half hour of the podcast's 161-minute runtime, referred to earlier this summer when both billionaires began posting on social media that they were willing to engage in a "cage match" for charity. Zuckerberg went as far as posting videos of his workout sessions after building an MMA-style Octagon arena on his property and training in jiu-jitsu and other martial arts.

By the end of the summer, however, the fight didn't seem like it would happen, despite occasional comments from both men that they were willing to participate. "I think we can all agree Elon isn't serious and it's time to move on," Zuckerberg posted in August.

But, when pressed by Joe Rogan, Musk said he was still willing to fight Zuckerberg. Rogan directly asked, "What is the likelihood of this actually happening?" Musk responded, "I'm willing to do it anytime, anywhere, anyplace, any rules... I challenge him to a duel under any circumstances."

While Musk says he is willing to fight Zuckerberg, he added, "I don't think he should fight me." He reasons that, despite Zuckerberg's training and younger age, Musk has a size and weight advantage  and even "wouldn't need time to prepare." He repeated a (likely tongue-in-cheek) comment he's made before about the fight that he could use his "Walrus" move, which involves him just laying on top of his opponent and doing nothing but immobilizing them.

Musk claims that Zuckerberg pulled out of the fight and implied he did so because the chosen venue would not have enough ad space to make money. That venue would be the nearly 2,000-year-old Roman Colosseum, which — according to Musk — Italy offered as an arena. Unlike a modern arena, however, it would be hard to cover the Colosseum in billboards and other ads and would bring in less money for charity.

Rogan suggested the two billionaires instead fight in the Sphere, the Las Vegas venue that is as high-tech as it is visually stunning. Rogan suggested the Sphere is the "modern-day Colosseum" and equated Las Vegas to the rampant hedonism that characterized Ancient Rome shortly before its fall.

If Musk keeps to his word that he's willing to fight "anywhere, anytime," the ball is now in Mark Zuckerberg's court to make it happen. Musk did admit, however, that he might regret agreeing to the cage match. "It could be an exercise in hubris," he told Rogan.