Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are planning to have a cage fight, but Zuckerberg has said that he isn’t holding his breath.

A post on Facebook’s new threads app revealed that Mr Zuckerberg had proposed August 26 as the date for the showdown.

Zuckerberg responded to a post on X where Musk claimed he was training “all day,” writing: “I’m ready today… but he hasn’t confirmed it yet.”

With Threads’ launch in July, the two became direct competitors.

Mr Zuckerberg replied that it is more like “funding secured,” in reference to statements made by Mr Musk in 2018 about his plans to take Tesla private when asked by a Threads user whether the fight had been mutually agreed upon.

The deal never went through and Mr Musk paid a $20m (£15.7m) fine to the US Financial Markets Authority and stepped down from his role as chairman of Tesla.

As Musk may require surgery on his neck and upper back, the “Exact date is still in flux” regarding the potential fight.

On Sunday, Mr Musk claimed that his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, would broadcast the fight live.

Proceeds from the match would benefit veterans charities, he said.

The point of the bout was explained by Mr Musk as follows: “It’s a civilized form of war. Men love war.”

Asked why the fight should be streamed on X, Mr Zuckerberg replied: “Isn’t there a more reliable platform that can raise money for charities?”

Following Meta’s launch of Threads in early July, which drew more than 100 million sign-ups in a matter of days, the stakes seem high.

Later, Mr Zuckerberg said the platform had lost more than half of its users.

As a result of Mr Musk’s takeover and changes to the platform, rival social media platform X has faced criticism on several occasions. Additionally, he fired a large number of employees.

Users return to Threads after excitement fades

Users treated unfairly by X will be compensated by Musk

As early as June, Musk posted a message on Twitter claiming he was “up for a cage fight” – a fight with few rules.

Zuckerberg then tweeted a screenshot of Musk’s tweet with the caption “Send me your location”, to which Musk responded: “Vegas Octagon.”

For Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bouts, the Octagon is the competition mat and enclosed area. It is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Musk, 52, also wrote: “I have this great move I call ‘The Walrus’, where I just lie on top of my opponent and do nothing.”

His tweets of walruses later suggested his challenge to the Facebook founder might not have been entirely serious.

According to Mr Zuckerberg, he loves martial arts and will continue competing with those who train despite what happens.