Mummy and Daddy Musk think Elon's cage fight against Zuck is a terrible idea

How many CEOs in their 50s require their parents to step in when they're being a little shit?

We don't recall Mary Maxwell Gates piping up when Microsoft was being accused of monopolizing the PC operating market in the early '90s, though she was probably thinking, "That's my boy."

Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk is a different matter. The world's richest manchild, who turned 52 yesterday, enjoys internet memes, cars and rockets – much like lots of others the world over – but his billions are often misconstrued as a free pass to do and say as he pleases.

His potential "cage fight" with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is just one example. The Register covered the ludicrous exchange last week, and there's been no suggestion since that the bout will not go ahead.

So enter Mummy and Daddy Musk, both in their 70s, to reel in their tearaway son (not that he'd listen).

Speaking to the the US Sun, Errol Musk, who made a fortune from an emerald mine in Zambia on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, said the fight would be lose-lose for Elon regardless of outcome.

"The thing is if this crazy fight goes ahead, if Elon beats this guy, Elon will be called a bully, being so much heavier and taller, while if he loses the humiliation would be total. It's a no-win situation for Elon."

He added: "Elon aced purple belt in JKA (Japanese Karate Association), the best. But he does not know how to go for the kill. He cares too much."

Model and dietitian Maye Musk, who split from Elon's dad in the 1970s, has also expressed misgivings as any mother would. "A verbal fight only," she tweeted. "Three questions each. The funniest answers win. Who agrees?" Observers noted Elon would win by default since we all know his legions of fans are like putty in his hands.

She also asked computer scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman not to encourage the fight when he said: "A jiu jitsu match between Zuck and Elon would definitely be a fun plot twist in this simulation. I'm all for it."

Unfortunately for Maye, it seems her words have gone unheeded as Fridman announced yesterday that he had been doing some jiu-jitsu training with Elon. "I'm extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill, on the feet and on the ground," he said. "It was epic."

• California man jailed after manure-to-methane scheme revealed as bull
• Mark Zuckerberg would kick Elon Musk's ass, experts say
• 'We hate what you've done with the place – especially the hate' Australia tells Twitter
• Elon Musk's Twitter moves were 'reaffirming' says Reddit boss amid API changes

Meanwhile, UFC boss Dana White has done little to defuse the situation, telling TMZ Sports that both Musk and Zuckerberg are "absolutely dead serious about this" and that he's working toward making the fight a reality.

"The biggest fight of all time was Floyd [Mayweather] and Conor [McGregor], I just think it triples that – it triples what that did, there's no limit on what that thing can make," he said.

"This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world. Bigger than anything that's ever been done, it would break all pay-per-view records; these guys would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity.

"And you don't have to be a fight fan to be interested in this fight, everybody would want to see it." ®