OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has voiced his not-so-surprising support for Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a hypothetical cage match against Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk.
What Happened: His comments came in an interview with Xfund's Patrick Chung that took place at Harvard University on May 1 and was posted on Harvard Business School's YouTube channel last week.
During a quick-fire question round, Altman was asked to pick between Musk and Zuckerberg, to which he promptly asked, "Like in a cage match?"
When Chang prodded further saying, "Who would you bet on," Altman said, "Zuck in a cage match."
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Why It Matters: The concept of a "cage match" between the two tech moguls gained traction last year, after Zuckerberg announced Threads, a new text-based social media platform as a potential rival to Musk's X, formerly Twitter.
Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, challenged Meta CEO for a cage match, which Zuckerberg accepted.
Musk continued to fuel the idea, suggesting Las Vegas as a potential venue and even hinting he might confront Zuckerberg at his home. Zuckerberg, however, maintained a more cautious approach, expressing interest but waiting for concrete plans from Musk.
UFC president Dana White also confirmed that serious discussions were happening behind the scenes. However, as of now, the potential cage match remains uncertain.
Earlier this year, Musk re-ignited this conversation by publicly challenging Zuckerberg. The Tesla CEO later proposed a fight with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
Meanwhile, the feud between Musk and Altman has also escalated. Last month, Musk expressed displeasure over Altman's potential 7% stake in OpenAI, the AI startup he helped co-found in 2015, following its transition to a for-profit entity.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
