A Multi-Billion Dollar Clash: The Financial Impact of the Showdown Between Elon Musk and Zuckerberg

Elon Musk said Sunday that the “cage match” he and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg have seemingly agreed to as a fund-raiser will be carried live on X, formerly known as Twitter, which he owns.

“Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X,” Musk posted. “All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.”

He did not give further details, and there was no immediate confirmation from Zuckerberg.

Musk added, in a separate post, “Am lifting weights throughout the day, preparing for the fight.”

The two billionaire entrepreneurs, who in the past have occasionally jousted from afar, became direct competitors after Zuckerberg’s Meta launched its Twitter-like Threads platform in early July, quickly drawing 120 million users, according to Quiver Quantitative.

Musk then posted on X, “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol,” referring to a form of Mixed Martial Arts in which rival fighters employ a variety of techniques — like wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu — while limited by few rules.

Zuckerberg, a martial arts enthusiast who has taken part in jiu-jitsu competitions, responded to Musk’s initial, seemingly humorous, challenge by replying on Instagram “Send me location.”

The exchange sparked a torrent of reactions on social media, as well as prompting a lively round of betting on the potential winner.

The 39-year-old Zuckerberg, with his fighting experience, emerged as the clear favorite despite the decided size advantage of Musk, who is 52.

No date has been set for the fight, which — if it does happen — is expected to take place in Las Vegas.

The two tech giants have clashed over the years on issues ranging from politics to artificial intelligence.

But the arrival of Threads heightened the pressure on the already troubled Twitter.

Musk bought that social network for $44 billion before announcing massive layoffs and opening the platform up to conspiracy-minded posters, leading several advertisers to turn elsewhere.

UFC president Dana White on Thursday told TMZ Sports that he spoke with both billionaires about their social media beef this week, which saw Zuckerberg accept a “cage match” challenge issued by Musk on Twitter.

“Mark Zuckerberg hit me up first and said ‘is he serious?’” White told the outlet. When the promoter reached out to Musk, the Tesla CEO told him: “Yeah, I’m dead serious.”

White said that he is already in “early stages” of planning how to put on the fight, but didn’t hesitate to play up the excitement he expects the brawl will create.

“This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world, bigger than anything that’s ever been done,” he said. “It would break all pay-per-view records.”

The tech executives have a history of bad blood, with the fight challenge coming after reports emerged that Zuckerberg’s Meta is working on building a rival to Twitter.

While a standard UFC pay-per-view costs $80, White said he would charge $100 for the Musk-Zuckerberg bout.

The previous biggest pay-per-view ever was Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather in 2017, White said, which brought in more than $600 million in revenue.

Mayweather reportedly took home $275 million after winning, while McGregor walked away with $85 million.

But a fight between Musk and Zuckerberg — the No. 1 and No. 10 richest men on earth with a combined net worth of $340 billion — would easily set a new record, White said.

“I think it triples [Mayweather-McGregor],” he said. “There’s no limit on what this thing can make.”

The pair likely aren’t looking to add to their net worth from the fight, however. Instead, White suggested they would each battle for a charitable organization of their choice.

“I don’t think either one of them needs the money,” White said. “These guys would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity,” he added.

White declined to speculate about when the fight might take place, but said he’s ready to make it happen.

“If these guys are serious, I make fights that people want to see,” he said. “That’s what I do for a living.”