The relationship between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg was once so strained that Musk challenged Zuckerberg to a cage fight. However, by the early days of the second Trump administration, things had apparently warmed up. This shift is detailed in court documents published on a Friday.
As reported, these private text messages between Zuckerberg and Musk were released as part of Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI. The exchange occurred on February 3, 2025, around the time Zuckerberg appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast to express his view that corporate America had become “emasculated.”
In the texts, Zuckerberg referenced Musk’s aggressive government-slashing efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. Zuckerberg wrote, “Looks like DOGE is making progress. I’ve got our teams on alert to take down content doxxing or threatening the people on your team. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.”
Musk replied with a heart emoji. He then followed up by asking, “Are you open to the idea of bidding on OpenAI with me and some others?”
Zuckerberg, the Meta CEO, responded by suggesting they discuss the idea over the phone. According to previously released documents, Zuckerberg never ultimately joined Musk’s bid to purchase OpenAI.