Photo — Elon Musk: Own work (CC BY 3.0) · Mark Zuckerberg: Mark Zuckerberg F8 2018 Keynote (CC BY 2.0)
The Short Version
The multi-year rivalry between tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg spanned public spats over AI regulation, social media dominance, and a proposed cage fight. Relationship tensions later thawed when unsealed 2026 court documents revealed private text exchanges from early 2025 regarding DOGE cooperation and potential AI business joint ventures.
Latest Development
Court Records Reveal Thawing Relations Between Musk and Zuckerberg
Unsealed court filings from OpenAI litigation detailed private text messages between Musk and Zuckerberg from early 2025, demonstrating a shift toward cooperative discussion despite Musk's lawyers seeking to exclude the messages from trial exhibits.
March 31, 2026 · Legal filing
The Beef
Chronological, newest first. Every entry cites a source.
Beef timeline
March 31, 2026
Court Records Reveal Thawing Relations Between Musk and Zuckerberg
Legal filingUnsealed court filings from OpenAI litigation detailed private text messages between Musk and Zuckerberg from early 2025, demonstrating a shift toward cooperative discussion despite Musk's lawyers seeking to exclude the messages from trial exhibits.
Source ↗February 3, 2025
Private Text Messages Show DOGE and OpenAI Collaboration Discussions
ReportedZuckerberg texted Musk offering assistance regarding Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiatives, to which Musk responded by inviting Zuckerberg to join a bid on OpenAI intellectual property.
Source ↗August 14, 2023
Proposed Cage Fight Collapses Amid Mutual Blame
Public statementZuckerberg posted on Threads that it was time to move on because Musk was not serious about setting a fight date, while Musk publicly mocked Zuckerberg and suggested showing up at his residence.
Source ↗June 22, 2023
Musk and Zuckerberg Propose Cage Match
Public statementMusk posted that he was up for a cage fight, prompting Zuckerberg to post send me location on Instagram. The public back-and-forth ignited speculation about a potential UFC-hosted match in Las Vegas.
Source ↗January 2021
Musk Blames Facebook in Social Media Posts Following Capitol Riots
Public statementFollowing the January 6 Capitol riots, Musk shared memes mocking Facebook and criticizing its data-sharing policies, urging users to switch to Signal.
Source ↗March 2018
Musk Deletes Company Facebook Pages Following Cambridge Analytica Scandal
Verified eventAmid public backlash over Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, Musk participated in the #DeleteFacebook trend and removed the official Facebook pages for Tesla and SpaceX.
Source ↗July 25, 2017
Musk and Zuckerberg Clash over Artificial Intelligence Risks
Public statementAfter Zuckerberg criticized AI doomsday naysayers as irresponsible during a Facebook Live stream, Musk responded on Twitter that Zuckerberg's understanding of the subject was limited.
Source ↗September 2016
SpaceX Rocket Explosion Destroys Facebook Satellite
Verified eventA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded during testing at Cape Canaveral, destroying Facebook's AMOS-6 satellite. Zuckerberg expressed deep disappointment on Facebook regarding the destruction of the satellite.
Source ↗
Where It Stands
Cooling Off. The public animosity and cage match proposals have subsided into a more cooperative dynamic. Court records unsealed in March 2026 revealed that Musk and Zuckerberg engaged in friendly text exchanges in February 2025 regarding federal efficiency initiatives and a potential joint acquisition bid for OpenAI intellectual property.
Related Beefs
Same people, same category.
Related Beefs
Steve JobsBill Gates
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates engaged in a decades-long rivalry and partnership over personal computing design, software licensing, and market d…
Elon MuskSam Altman
Elon Musk and Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a non-profit AI research lab.
Elon MuskDonald Trump
Following a period of close political alignment during Trump's second administration, tech billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump…
Elon MuskJeff Bezos
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have engaged in a multi-decade public rivalry centered on space technology competition between SpaceX and Blue Orig…
Sources
- 1.SourceCourt Records Reveal Thawing Relations Between Musk and Zuckerberg · Mar 31, 2026
- 2.SourcePrivate Text Messages Show DOGE and OpenAI Collaboration Discussions · Feb 3, 2025
- 3.SourceProposed Cage Fight Collapses Amid Mutual Blame · Aug 14, 2023
- 4.SourceMusk and Zuckerberg Propose Cage Match · Jun 22, 2023
- 5.SourceMusk Blames Facebook in Social Media Posts Following Capitol Riots ·
- 6.SourceMusk Deletes Company Facebook Pages Following Cambridge Analytica Scandal ·
- 7.SourceMusk and Zuckerberg Clash over Artificial Intelligence Risks · Jul 25, 2017
- 8.SourceSpaceX Rocket Explosion Destroys Facebook Satellite ·
Allegations are attributed to the party that made them and are not statements of fact.