'Impressive': Elon Musk praises Mark Zuckerberg in rare rivalry twist, post goes viral

The rare exchange generated significant reactions on social media.

In the latest development in the ongoing rivalry between tech moguls Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, the SpaceX CEO has surprisingly praised Zuckerberg's recent achievements. This rare instance of public commendation comes on the heels of Meta’s release of its latest AI model, Llama 3.1.

Llama 3.1, Meta's new AI model, has reportedly outperformed OpenAI's GPT-4. Notably, Meta has made this model open-source, allowing free public access. Musk, who has previously accused Meta of "unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property" following the launch of Meta's Threads, acknowledged Zuckerberg's contribution to the field of AI.

Andrej Karpathy, the former director of Tesla AI, highlighted the release of Llama 3.1 on X (formerly Twitter). Musk responded to Karpathy's post, stating, "It is impressive, and Zuck does deserve credit for open-sourcing."

It is impressive and Zuck does deserve credit for open-sourcing

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2024

This comment has generated significant reactions on social media. Many users have appreciated Musk’s recognition of Zuckerberg’s work. One user noted, "Strange to see Musk & Zuck come to similar conclusions, but refreshing," while another remarked, "Musk approves Zuck." A third user commented, "You are a fair man, Elon. This is what positive competition looks like. You deserve much more love than you're receiving these days."

"So does that mean an Elon/Zuck cage match is off the table?" a user questioned.

However, this rare moment of mutual respect does not signal an end to their rivalry.

Recently, a social media post by Zuckerberg celebrating Independence Day sparked further controversy. On July 4, Zuckerberg posted a video on Instagram showing him wakeboarding while holding an American flag and a beverage. The post received widespread attention and praise from fans.

In contrast, Musk appeared to take a jab at Zuckerberg’s display. Commenting on the video, Musk wrote, "May he continue to have fun on his yachts. I prefer to work."