<\/p>\n
*Sigh*<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Okay, let\u2019s talk in regards to the Elon vs. Zuck fight.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n As you\u2019ll undoubtedly recall, back in June, X owner Elon Musk tweeted that he\u2019d be \u201cup for a cage match<\/a>\u201d with Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, in response to the news that Meta was planning to launch a brand new X rival app, ahead of the discharge of Threads. To the surprise of many, Zuckerberg, who\u2019s been getting more into MMA of late, responded that Musk just needed to \u201cSend Me Location<\/a>\u201d, implying that he was indeed up for an actual fight.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s ensued is a ridiculous back-and-forth between the 2, as Elon has used the potential bout as a method to grab more attention, and sure get more users to X in consequence.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Every week after this initial exchange, Musk claimed that there was \u201csome probability\u201d that the bout may very well be held within the Colosseum in Rome<\/a>, and implied that he\u2019d spoken to Italian officials about hosting the fight on the historic venue. Italy\u2019s <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Ministry of Culture denied this.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Every week after that, Musk re-shared a picture of himself in training with MMA fighters.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Really fun! The apparent conclusion is that I would like a *lot* more training.<\/p>\n \u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Zuckerberg responded along with his own training image, also with UFC stars:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So each multi-billionaires were actually training, which looked as if it would suggest that the fight might actually occur. Then things went quiet for just a few weeks on the Elon v Musk front, as sense looked as if it would (briefly) prevail.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Things kicked up again last week, with Musk posting<\/a> that he\u2019s been \u201cl<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>ifting weights throughout the day, preparing for the fight<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d. Elon then claimed that the fight can be live-streamed on X, with all proceeds going to charity, and further implied that solid arrangements were now in place.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The fight can be managed by my and Zuck\u2019s foundations (not UFC).<\/p>\n Livestream can be on this platform and Meta. The whole lot in camera frame can be ancient Rome, so nothing modern in any respect.<\/p>\n I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They’ve agreed on an epic location.<\/p>\n \u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n But Zuckerberg quickly denied this, and has denied all of Musk\u2019s various implications.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Elon has since clarified that he\u2019ll likely need shoulder surgery before the fight<\/a>, which can require months of recovery, which pretty clearly implies that each one of Musk\u2019s various public statements on the potential fight have been a publicity stunt designed to drive more interest in his budding social media empire. Whether Musk plans to truly go ahead with the bout in any respect or not, he has known all along that he\u2019s probably physically unable to participate, so really, it\u2019s one other a part of the Elon circus, that he uses to eat up media attention, after which deflect that to his various business interests.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Which, regardless of how you are feeling in regards to the man, he\u2019s clearly superb at. All along, in his tenure at Twitter\/X, Musk has been in a position to keep getting attention, which has likely helped to prop up the platform\u2019s numbers, and keep people coming back to the app.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason why Tesla doesn\u2019t pay for promoting, because Elon himself is such a lightning rod for the media that he can get his businesses mass media coverage without having to pay for it, which also aligns along with his cost-minimization management approach. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Essentially, as noted by Platformer\u2019s Casey Newton<\/a>, Elon uses business media\u2019s established processes against them to realize mass coverage, by stretching the reality, straight-up lying, or simply coming up with outlandish comments that trigger a frenzy online.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n As per Newton<\/a>:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>It\u2019s in the character of business journalism to assume that CEOs of public firms should not lying on a regular basis. And it\u2019s in <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>Musk<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>\u2019s nature to make frequent, daring pronouncements about his firms, politics, the character of consciousness, and so forth, all of that are irresistible to editors.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Newton suggests that editors should employ a more skeptical approach, and query more of Musk\u2019s outlandish claims, as a way to stop him from using the mainstream outlets, which he claims to despise, to maintain getting himself more attention.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Which is entirely correct. There\u2019s seemingly no prospect that an Elon v Musk fight is definitely going to occur, yet even people inside his prolonged orbit are actually getting asked about it in their very own media interviews and coverage. Just this week, X CEO Linda Yaccarino<\/a> and his ex-wife Grimes<\/a> were each asked for his or her thoughts on the bout, giving more column space to Musk\u2019s latest bid for attention, which is clearly working, on condition that I too am now writing about it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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