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| Elon and Mark's feud over SpaceX failure, artificial intelligence, and censorship. Source: (Creative Commons License). |
Even though billions of dollars separate billionaires from the rest of the human population, they are not immune from the vast array of human emotions. They pick fights, too, even among their exclusive group. For example, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has a long-running feud with fellow billionaire Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.
The rough and rocky relationship between the two dates back to 2016, when a rocket launch went awry. Facebook was preparing to offer internet services worldwide through satellites (Internet.org) and contracted Musk’s SpaceX for a launch. However, the Falcon 9 rocket exploded, shattering Facebook’s AMOS-6 satellite. Zuckerberg released a strongly worded statement expressing his disappointment with SpaceX’s disaster.
Musk, who has been known not to forget a slight, fired back at Zuckerberg when Facebook got caught in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Musk gleefully deleted all his companies’ Facebook pages and tweeted Zuckerberg’s company, then known as Facebook, that Facebook gave him “the willies.”
Facebook gives me the willies
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
Zuckerberg and Musk would later clash on another issue. With billions of dollars to play around with, the two dabbled into artificial intelligence and had different visions for its use in their respective companies. However, Musk preached a cautious approach to AI, even calling for regulation by the government. This was, according to him, due to the potential for misuse by bad actors.
Musk’s stand infuriated Zuckerberg, and the then-Facebook CEO commented that being a doomsday advocate of AI was grossly irresponsible. Musk responded by tweeting that he had discussed AI with Zuckerberg and discovered his understanding of the subject was lacking.
Musk’s stand infuriated Zuckerberg, and the then-Facebook CEO commented that being a doomsday advocate of AI was grossly irresponsible. Musk responded by tweeting that he had discussed AI with Zuckerberg and discovered his understanding of the subject was lacking.
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| Mark Zuckerberg speaking during the Facebook F8 Developers Conference in San Francisco, about the future of AI systems. Source: Getty Images (Creative Commons License). |
Although, Musk would not back down on his campaign against Facebook. When Sacha Baron Cohen called for more regulation of the social media network, Musk again asked his followers to delete the app, calling it “lame.”
Musk responded by tweeting that he had discussed AI with Zuckerberg and discovered his understanding of the subject was lacking.
When supporters of former-President Donald Trump marched on the capitol to protest his election loss, Musk shared memes that connected Facebook to the event, saying it was a domino effect. When Facebook announced it would start accessing users’ WhatsApp data, Musk responded by sharing a meme ridiculing Facebook for spying on its users.