Mark Zuckerberg has called out tech rival Elon Musk for avoiding their proposed cage match, saying “Elon isn’t serious and it’s time to move on”.

Musk quickly responded, calling Zuckerberg “a chicken”.

“He can’t eat at (Chic fil-A, a fried chicken outlet) because that would be cannibalism,” Musk said in another post on social media platform X, referring to Zuckerberg.

The putdown came on Sunday evening, after Zuckerberg posted on Threads, his new app rivalling Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Meta CEO claims he’s been ready for their fight, but Musk has been delaying.

“Elon won’t confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead. If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me,” Zuckerberg wrote.

The two have been hinting at a potential fight for months, after Musk tweeted in June: “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.”

“I offered a real date. Dana White offered to make this a legit competition for charity,” said Zuckerberg, referring to the UFC president who many speculated was helping organise the event.

Musk previously said he may need surgery, writing on X on August 6: “Exact date is still in flux. I’m getting an MRI of my neck & upper back tomorrow. May require surgery before the fight can happen. Will know this week.”

Earlier this month, Zuckerberg seemed to be teasing the potential match by sharing a screenshot of a conversation with his wife Priscilla, implying he had built an octagon in his backyard to practice jiu-jitsu.

But with Musk allegedly remaining wishy-washy on the timing, Zuckerberg says he’s moving on and “going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously”.

– AAP