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Mike Judge did an incredible job lampooning the tech industry with the HBO series Silicon Valley, which featured plenty of over-the-top subplots that expertly toed the line of plausibility thanks to the inherently bizarre nature of that particular sphere of the country.
However, on Wednesday, we were once again reminded that truth is indeed stranger than fiction courtesy of two of the biggest names in social media.
In May, Mark Zuckerberg took home a gold medal after entering his first competitive jiu-jitsu tournament. While the man behind The Company Formerly Known As Facebook may or may not have gotten choked out by an opponent, it’s still pretty clear he can hold his own on the mat.
Elon Musk claimed he’s dabbled in martial arts during an interview with Joe Rogan, but the divisive billionaire known for his role at Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter would be the first person to admit he’s not exactly a physical specimen (while he said he occasionally hits the treadmill and lift weights, he acknowledged “I wouldn’t exercise at all if I could”).
As a result, it’s a bit hard to believe he’d be able to outfox Zuckerberg in a one-on-one showdown, but that didn’t stop Musk from saying he’d be down to face off against him in a cage match before the Meta CEO quickly accepted that challenge in an Instagram post where he responded by saying “Send me location.”
DraftKings didn’t waste any time posting Musk as a +140 underdog in that hypothetical matchup, and there’s at least one other person who thinks Elon would be in for a bad time: his mom.
On Thursday, Maye Musk—a model who graced the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2022—advised her son to think twice about the cage match challenge while suggesting an alternative approach where the two men “fight with words only” in a verbal showdown where “the funniest person wins.”
No joking. Fight with words only. In armchairs. 4 feet apart. The funniest person wins.🤗😂 https://t.co/MpgFZmspP2
— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) June 22, 2023
While Zuckerberg isn’t exactly known for his sense of humor, I’d argue Elon would still be an even bigger underdog in that arena when you consider his cringe-inducing hosting stint on Saturday Night Live and his sheer inability to be a Good Poster on the platform he now owns despite his many, many efforts.
The hilarious tragedy of Elon Musk is he really wants to post but he can’t. The man can’t post. It’s not in his blood and it never will be. He can spend all the money in the world and he’ll never be a poster. The real ones know exactly what I mean.
— koyaanisqatsi heckler (@Arr) November 3, 2022
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if he takes his mother’s advice.