The tech space is abuzz with news of the latest chapter in the captivating rivalry between billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. As Meta launches Threads – an app designed to rival Twitter – the two tech moguls have taken their animosity to a new level.
Threads is not the first attempt at challenging Musk-owned Twitter, but it is certainly the most formidable. It allows users to engage with one another by posting text, links, replying and reposting messages. Should Threads find success, it could be the blow that Twitter has been waiting for.
The anticipated success of Threads seems to have stirred something in both Musk and Zuckerberg, with the pair even offering to meet up in an MMA cage to wrestle it out. While not many expect this fight to materialise, it’s clear that things are heating up between two of the world’s most well-known entrepreneurs.
Elon Musk has made his first response to Mark Zuckerberg’s new app, Threads, suggesting it is an imitation of Twitter. In a tweet, the tech mogul posted a laughing face emoticon in reply to a message that said Threads had been made using just the Copy and Paste keys.
The launch of Threads marks yet another chapter in the ongoing rivalry between billionaire rivals Musk and Zuckerberg – with some even suggesting that a bare-knuckle boxing match in a cage might be necessary to settle it.
In response to the Threads announcement, Zuckerberg issued a cryptic post of dueling Spider-Men – his first tweet in more than 10 years – fueling speculation about how his app might compete with its platform counterpart. Clearly, tensions remain high in this power struggle between two of Silicon Valley’s biggest titans.
In a dramatic shakeup, Threads is taking the spotlight off of Twitter’s recent missteps by launching a new social networking platform with an impressive army of celebrity backers.
Since tech mogul Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October, the company has slashed thousands of jobs, relaxed content moderation policies, and caused significant user and advertiser frustrations due to technical issues. Their latest and perhaps most controversial move was capping the amount of tweets users can see daily, a decision which Musk called “temporary”, but only as a way to stop data scrapers and bots.
Within hours of its launch, Threads had already gained over five million users, including top tier celebrities such as Shakira and Jack Black. It appears that the stars have converged on Threads with their millions of devoted followers in tow, leaving Twitter behind in a cloud of confusion.
Whether or not Threads will be able to successfully capitalize on Twitter’s missteps and grow remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: this leading social media platform is now the epicenter of star power.
