In a rapidly escalating tech rivalry, Twitter owner Elon Musk and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg continue to engage in increasingly provocative public exchanges, the stakes of which seem to reach beyond their own egos.
The latest rivalry between Musk and Zuckerberg erupted following the launch of Meta’s new social media platform Threads, which amassed an astonishing 100 million users within days, according to TechCrunch.
Musk, never one to shy away from controversy, fired back with an audacious challenge to Zuckerberg, invoking a crude metaphorical contest of masculinity and referring to Zuckerberg with the inflammatory term ‘cuck.’
“I propose a literal dick measuring contest,” Musk tweeted.
While Twitter still has the upper hand with about 250 million active users, Musk’s social media platform has been plagued by various technical glitches and controversies since his $44 billion acquisition last year.
Cloudflare’s chief reported that Twitter’s web traffic is in a downward spiral, indicating a potential exodus to competing platforms.
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In launching Threads, Zuckerberg emphasized his commitment to fostering a friendly environment on the platform, which he suggested was a key failure point for Twitter.
Musk, never one to back down from a challenge, has not only proposed a mixed martial arts “cage fight” with Zuckerberg, but has also threatened to sue Meta over alleged intellectual property rights violations.
According to Alex Spiro, Twitter’s attorney, Meta has been hiring ex-Twitter employees, potentially gaining unauthorized access to trade secrets.
“Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights,” Spiro warned in a letter sent to Zuckerberg last week. Meta has refuted the allegations.
In the face of these explosive developments, Musk has reiterated, “Competition is fine, cheating is not.”
Whether this corporate drama will end in court or the boxing ring is anyone’s guess, but it’s certain that the digital battlefield of the social media world is becoming increasingly turbulent for the two tech titans.
This news article was partially created with the assistance of artificial intelligence and edited and fact-checked by a human editor.