Elon Musk Slams Zuckerberg With "Cuck" Comment And "Dick Measuring" Challenge

In a turn of events indicative of Silicon Valley's boiling competitive landscape, tech titan Elon Musk has engaged in a heated exchange with Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. On July 9, Musk fired off a provocative tweet stating, "Zuck is a cuck," in response to a comment posted on Twitter by an account under the handle @fentasyl. The comment highlighted the juxtaposition between Musk's defense of free speech and Zuckerberg's alleged focus on protecting brand speech.

In particular, the spat was ignited by an interaction between Zuckerberg and the official Wendy's brand account on Threads, Meta's new text-based social media app. The post, a jesting suggestion that Zuckerberg "should go to space just to really make [Elon Musk] mad," was met with a laughing emoji from Zuckerberg.

Elon: Protects free speech
Zuck: Protects brand speech https://t.co/qCsguIvjlTpic.twitter.com/WiA8dzVQLW

— ~~datahazard~~ (@fentasyl) July 9, 2023

This dialogue occurred amidst a growing storm of controversy surrounding Meta and its alleged habit of censoring free speech through the questionable use of biased third-party checkers. However, tensions escalated further when Musk followed up his initial comment on July 10, proposing a "literal dick measuring contest." The timing and nature of Musk's responses point to the increasingly heated rivalry between the social media behemoths.

I propose a literal dick measuring contest 📏

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 10, 2023

Notably, this quarrel unfolds at a time when Meta's new Threads app has come under fire for being a "copycat" of Twitter. Legal rumblings have emerged, with Twitter's legal team accusing Meta of "systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property" in a cease-and-desist letter sent directly to Zuckerberg last Tuesday. The allegations also hint that Meta may have been scraping Twitter's data in violation of the terms of service.

The below is a leak of the letter sent by Spiro to Meta, as reported by @semafor.

The allegations centre on trade secrets shared by ex-Twitter employees hired by Meta, but also hints that Meta may have been scraping Twitter's data in violation of the terms of service. pic.twitter.com/Lo6usdsM7Q

— T(w)itter Daily News  (@TitterDaily) July 6, 2023

Interestingly, Threads has gained significant traction despite the controversy. Within a week of its launch, the app has garnered close to 100 million active users, a fact that could be a potential motivator for Musk's scornful comments. This rapid adoption suggests that the market is ripe for new social media platforms, and Threads is successfully filling a niche, albeit not without controversy.

As the public spat continues, the global tech community watches with bated breath. This rivalry not only exemplifies the high stakes and cut-throat competition of the tech world but also raises pertinent questions about free speech, intellectual property rights, and the role of tech giants in shaping our digital future. That being said, whether Mark Zuckerberg will agree to Musk's proposal remains to be seen and is undoubtedly a competition we'd prefer not to go public.