Mark Zuckerberg says ready for cage fight, but Elon Musk 'may require surgery' before bout

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said he is ready for a proposed cage fight with Elon Musk, even as the Tesla boss has suggested that fans might have to wait a bit more as he could require a surgery before the battle of billionaires.

Musk, 52, and Zuckerberg, 39, have been teasing netizens about a hand-to-hand combat — and have made a series of posts that have heightened excitement among observers in the run-up to what could be an unprecedented bout involving two of world's most prominent faces in big tech.

Monday's posts followed a familiar script, with each of the characters taking to his own social media platform to take a dig at the other — thereby sending the whole internet into a tizzy.

First, Zuckerberg said in Threads that Musk did not confirm a date for the fight, sharing the screenshot of a tweet in which Musk said he was lifting weight all day as part of his preparations.

“I am ready today. I suggested August 26 when he [Elon Musk] first challenged, but he hasn't confirmed. Not holding my breath,” Zuckerberg wrote in the newly launched a platform by Meta that is seen as a rival to Musk-owned Twitter. It was Musk who had thrown the cage fight challenge at Zuckerberg in a Twitter exchange with a user on June 21.

“I love this sport and will continue competing with people who train no matter what happens here,” Zuckerberg added.

The tweet by Musk that drew Zuckerberg's response read: “I am lifting weights throughout the day, preparing for the fight. Don’t have time to work out, so I just bring them to work.” Musk was referring to his Twitter video in which he performed dumbbell curls in office.

After Zuckerberg's Threads post on Monday, Musk said in a conversation on "X", previously Twitter, that the date of the fight had yet to be decided.

"Exact date is still in flux. I’m getting an MRI of my neck & upper back tomorrow. May require surgery before the fight can happen. Will know this week," he said, replying to a user.

In his previous tweet, he sent a smiley Emoji in response to the user who said people might have missed Zuckerberg's suggestion about the date because he posted that on Threads — comments that appear to suggest Threads is nowhere close X's popularity.

On August 6, Musk shared that the fight will be live-streamed on X.

• Mark Zuckerberg's training session photo goes viral as cage fight buzz continues