Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a jab at “cage match” rival Elon Musk outside the ring, saying the X owner’s “polarizing” style will keep the social media platform from reaching its “full potential.”
Zuckerberg — who recently said Musk “isn’t serious” about fighting him in a mixed martial arts battle — said he’s “less optimistic” that the location formerly referred to as Twitter is in higher hands for the reason that Tesla mogul acquired it for $44 billion last yr.
“I feel it’s still not clear exactly what trajectory it’s on,” Zuckerberg told The Verge tech reporter Alex Heath on Wednesday.
“But I do think he’s been pretty polarizing, so I feel that the prospect that it form of reaches the total potential on the trajectory that it’s on is … I don’t know. I suppose I’m probably less optimistic or simply think there’s less of a likelihood now than there was before.”
Zuckerberg, whose own “Twitter killer” app Threads has floundered since its highly publicized launch last July, also revealed that he considered buying Twitter at across the time that founder Jack Dorsey was fired as CEO in 2008.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg weighed in on Elon Musk’s stewardship of X Corp, the corporate formerly referred to as Twitter.AFP via Getty Images
He viewed Twitter as a “billion-person social app” that he could “scale,” but acquisition talks went nowhere.
X currently has about 200 million users.
Zuckerberg said he doubted whether X could reach its full potential under Musk’s ownership.REUTERS
The Facebook founder did praise Musk as a “change agent.”
“With Elon coming in, I feel there was actually a chance to vary things up and he has,” Zuckerberg said.
The Post has sought comment from X Corp.
After completing his acquisition of Twitter, Musk instituted wholesale changes by shedding some 80% of staffers, overhauling content moderation policies, reinstating banned accounts equivalent to those of former President Donald Trump and the satirical news site Babylon Bee, and rebranding the firm as X Corp.
Musk’s freewheeling style and right-leaning politics have reportedly scared off advertisers who’re wary of being related to a site that enables for unfettered speech that critics say veers into antisemitism and xenophobia.
Earlier this week, X Corp. reportedly slashed greater than half of the team that was tasked with fighting election-linked misinformation.
Zuckerberg told The Verge that X’s “negative and significant” slant was one reason he rolled out Threads.
Musk reduced X Corp.’s workforce by some 80% since acquiring the corporate for $44 billion last yr.AFP via Getty Images
In July, Adam Mosseri, a Zuckerberg lieutenant who runs Instagram, told The Verge that Threads is “not going to do anything to encourage” politics and “hard news.”
“There are good enough amazing communities — sports, music, fashion, beauty, entertainment, etc. — to make a vibrant platform while not having to get into politics or hard news,” Mosseri told The Verge.
Despite an initial July 5 rollout which saw 100 million signups throughout the first week, traffic to Threads retreated significantly in the following weeks — dropping by as much as 82%.
