Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg's planned bout has taken another step towards materializing. The CEO of X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk revealed in a tweet he published this weekend that he spoke with the Prime Minister of Italy and the Italian Minister of Culture, and the "cage fight" in question with Mark Zuckerberg will probably take place in one of the oldest and most famous places in Italy.
In recent weeks, Zuckerberg and Musk have exchanged messages in which they implored each other to a fight inside a closed cage, the purpose of which is to raise millions of euros for donations to hospitals. The Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, said that if the fight does take place in Italy, it will result in donations of millions of euros to two children's hospitals in Italy.
"I had a long and friendly conversation with Elon Musk, we talked about our shared passion for ancient Roman history. We are thinking about how to organize a large and historical charity event, which will fully respect and protect the environment. It will not take place in Rome," Sangiuliano said.
He also noted that the Colosseum and the capital Rome will not host the cage fight in question between Zuckerberg and Musk. However, in a tweet published by Musk himself, he wrote that the battle should take place in ancient Rome.
"The fight will be managed by my and Zuck’s foundations (not UFC). Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all. I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location," Musk tweeted. The idea of holding a cage fight between Zuckerberg and Musk began last June when Musk tweeted "I'm up for a cage match if he is."
In response, Zuckerberg, who specializes in martial arts, wrote, "Send me location" on Instagram, a platform owned by Meta. Musk tweeted back 'Vegas Octagon". The two continued to exchange several public messages in recent weeks, prompting millions of commenters to urge them to hold the fight in question, which is supposed to raise donations for hospitals around the world.
A Meta spokesperson later dismissed allegations that Zuckerberg had been joking: "Mr. Zuckerberg's statement leaves no doubt as to his intentions." Zuckerberg has since stated that 'I'm ready to fight today, and since he challenged me". Musk has since published tweets that he has undergone medical examinations to ensure that no preexisting conditions will be a barrier to the fight.