Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s patriotic Fourth of July video Thursday drew reward from followers of his unexpectedly fruitful rebrand, however it fell flat along with his archrival: billionaire Elon Musk.
The video exhibits long-haired Zuckerberg sporting a chic tuxedo and sipping a beer whereas flaunting an American flag on his beloved hydrofoil, a board that makes use of a wing under the water to maintain afloat. The video, set to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” with the caption “Happy birthday, America!” rapidly went viral, garnering greater than 700,000 likes and hundreds of thousands of views.
The video is a part of a rebrand that has reworked Zuck from pc nerd to billionaire unhealthy boy. In 2021, the Meta CEO was photographed on a board much like the one within the Thursday video and was lambasted for his blue hoodie, shorts, and sunscreen lathered face.
However the new-and-improved Zuck, who wears designer garments and wins MMA bouts, managed to drag off the look this yr, drawing digital applause from followers for his “based” present of patriotism.
Nonetheless, not less than one influential voice bashed Zuckerberg for the video: his nemesis, Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
“May he continue to have fun on his yachts. I prefer to work,” Musk mentioned in a publish on X.
Musk supporter Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports activities additionally jumped in, saying on X that “Zuck will always be uncool.”
Musk usually ruffles feathers along with his fellow billionaires, however he and Zuck have escalated their feud as of late. Their battle, which presumably began over a blown-up satellite tv for pc, got here to a head final yr when Musk challenged Zuck to a “cage match,” which the Meta CEO later canceled as a result of he mentioned Musk wouldn’t affirm a date. A month later, Zuckerberg launched Threads, a direct competitor to Musk’s X.
Musk nonetheless hasn’t forgotten concerning the canceled cage match and introduced it up once more in a publish on the day after Zuckerberg’s fortieth birthday.
“If only Zuckerberg were as tough (sigh). I’ve offered to fight him any place, any time, any rules, but all I hear is crickets,” Musk posted on X on Might 15.
In April, the 2 lastly fought it out however in a battle of riches, with Zuckerberg passing the Tesla CEO to turn out to be the third-richest individual on the earth. However since then, Tesla’s inventory has rallied and buyers have permitted Musk’s record-breaking $45 billion pay package deal, serving to him as soon as once more reclaim the title of world’s richest man, leaving Zuck within the mud. Musk has a internet value of $252 billion in comparison with Zuck’s $181 billion, in accordance with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
