Elon Musk calls Zuckerberg a chicken after he says, "It's time to move on"

In a new twist on the 'will they, won't they' cage fight saga, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has stated that he is moving on from the idea of the much-hyped fight with Elon Musk, noting that the CEO of Tesla doesn't seem to take it seriously.

The two billionaire tech rivals had agreed to the fight in June when Musk tweeted his willingness to participate. Zuckerberg responded to Musk's tweet asking for the location.

However, in a recent post on his social media platform Threads, Zuckerberg said: "I believe we can all agree that Elon isn't actually serious about this, and it's time to let it go. I proposed a genuine date, and Dana White (the UFC boss) even offered to turn this into a legitimate charity event."

Musk's response, according to Zuckerberg, has been inconsistent. "Elon won't confirm a date, initially mentioning that he needs surgery and now suggesting practising in my backyard. If Elon decides to genuinely commit to a suitable date and official event, he knows how to contact me. Otherwise, best to move on. I'll focus." to compete with those who are truly dedicated to the sport.

After Zuckerberg's call, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to throw some virtual jabs at the Facebook CEO.

"Zuck is a chicken," Musk posted.

Musk had previously hinted that the fight could take place at an iconic location in Italy. He discussed broadcast options and a vintage backdrop for the event, even claiming to have spoken with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Tensions between the two tech giants' companies have escalated since Zuckerberg's Meta launched Threads, a text-based chat app, in July. Twitter took action by sending a cease and desist letter to Zuckerberg, alleging that Meta had misused Twitter trade secrets and other intellectual property.

Zuckerberg, who has a background in mixed martial arts, shared his participation in his first jiu-jitsu tournament earlier this year. Meanwhile, Musk brought up his training for the fight, which involves lifting weights at work due to time constraints. He shared on X: "I don't have time to hit the gym, so I bring the gym to work."