MIHAI BARBU/AFP, MANDEL NGAN, ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images
- Controversial influencer Andrew Tate wants to train Elon Musk to take down Mark Zuckerberg.
- The ex-pro kickboxer said it would "restore" his own honor after he was banned from Meta's platforms.
- Musk and Zuckerberg have been hyping up a potential "cage match" between them.
Andrew Tate has offered to be billionaire Elon Musk's trainer in an apparent upcoming cage match with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg.
"I will train you @elonmusk," the former professional kickboxer tweeted on Thursday. "You will not lose."
Tate, an influencer who was banned from Meta's platforms in 2022, portrayed his offer to Musk as an act of retaliation against the social media company.
"Meta banned me everywhere for telling the truth about vaccines," Tate wrote. "But now we can restore honour with a strike at the enemy clans leader."
Meta said in August that it banned Tate from Instagram and Facebook for violating policies around dangerous organizations and individuals and for infringing its guidelines on hate speech. Tate had around 4.8 million Instagram followers at the time, and was called a misogynist for the messages he pushed on social media.
Tate was charged in Romania on Wednesday with rape, human trafficking, and forming criminal group to sexually exploit women. His brother and two others also face these charges, and all four have denied the allegations.
As Tate proposed his training gig to Musk, the Tesla founder continued to hype up the prospect of him duking it out with Zuckerberg.
"Let's go full MMA," Musk tweeted on Thursday evening.
Musk was the one to float the idea of fighting his fellow billionaire, tweeting on Tuesday that he'd be "up for a cage match" after unsubstantiated rumors emerged that Meta might launch a rival to Twitter called Threads.
The Twitter owner has regularly beefed with Zuckerberg, often complaining that it felt like the Meta CEO was taking over the world with his widely-used platforms, and that he seemed politically "partisan."
But Zuckerberg actually responded to Musk this time, posting an Instagram story showing a screenshot of Musk's tweet. "Send Me Location," Zuckerberg wrote.
While Zuckerberg's reply appeared to be a tongue-in-cheek response, The Verge later reported that a Meta spokesperson indicated that the Meta CEO was serious about being down to fight Musk.
"The story speaks for itself," spokesperson Iska Saric told the outlet's Alex Heath.
Zuckerberg has some martial arts experience, having won a gold and silver medal in a jiu-jitsu tournament in Redwood City, California. He said he'd been training for over a year, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Musk, on the other hand, described one of his signature fighting moves as "The Walrus," where he lies on top of his opponent and does nothing.
Sports betting websites have no consensus on who's favored to win a one-on-one matchup, Insider's Will Gendron reported.
DraftKings bills Musk as the underdog, citing Zuckerberg being 12 years younger and being accustomed to an intense training regimen. Conversely, Bovada has the Tesla CEO as the favorite, owing to his larger size and heavier weight, Gendron reported.
It's still unclear where, when, or how the two billionaires might go head to head, but Musk is suggesting they fight at the "Vegas Octagon," or the Las Vegas UFC Apex arena.
Meanwhile, Musk's mother, Maye Musk, is trying to get her son to drop the fight.
"No joking," she tweeted. "Fight with words only. In armchairs. 4 feet apart. The funniest person wins."
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he'd consider training under Tate.
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/FuOazqE
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