The fight is set to take place at an “epic location” in Italy

Tech billionaire Elon Musk wants his cage battle against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to be set against a historical backdrop in Italy.

Musk wrote Friday on his online platform X (formerly Twitter) that he has spoken to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, and they promised an “epic site” for the fight.

Then Sangioliano spoke more cautiously. He and Musk had a “long, friendly conversation”. “We are thinking about how we can organize a major charity event and a historic event while fully respecting and protecting the sites,” he said. “It will not happen in Rome,” he said at the same time.

A large donation of several million euros is also planned to two important Italian children’s hospitals. There was initially no reaction to Musk’s announcement from Meloni’s official residence in Rome on Friday.

Musk wrote that only ancient structures from Roman times should be visible in the combat photo and nothing modern. He had sometimes put forward the Roman Colosseum as a venue for the fight – but that was dismissed in recent weeks.

The possibility of a fight first surfaced in June. Musk challenged Zuckerberg, who agreed. After the initial publicity, a radio silence followed, leaving many skeptical that tech billionaires would ever gather in the ring. Recently, Musk has repeatedly emphasized that he wants to fight. He now wrote that the fight should be broadcast live on X and Facebook’s Meta group services.

Musk also noted that it might be a while before he meets tech billionaires. He needs surgery because his right shoulder blade is rubbing against his ribs. “It will only take a few months to recover,” he wrote on Friday in X. (sda/dpa).

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