The world’s richest man Elon Musk escalated his feud with fellow billionaire Mark Cuban late Monday and early Tuesday, as the self-appointed “troll” Musk called Cuban a “racist” and floated a fight between the two to settle their differing viewpoints on the merits of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Mark Cuban has touted the benefits of diversity programs on Musk's social media platform X.
In a series of overnight posts on his X social media platform, Musk went after Cuban for his public support of DEI initiatives, suggesting Cuban’s approval of the subject under fire by mostly right-wing figures is due to his “ridiculous overcompensation regarding racism” and “if mental gymnastics were an Olympic sport, Mark Cuban would be a perfect 10.”
Musk also explicitly called Cuban a “racist” for his explanation of why companies encourage a diverse applicant pool, and raised the idea of a UFC-style cage match between himself and Cuban.
Cuban refused to take the bait on Musk’s latest barbs, writing “lol no” to Forbes on if he had a response to Musk’s fight proposal and racism accusation.
In his onslaught against Cuban, Musk also resurfaced several insults against Cuban from former President Donald Trump, commenting “epic” on a 2014 Trump post questioning if Cuban’s failed efforts to buy a MLB team was due to Cuban’s “financials or the fact that he's an asshole.”
Cuban and Musk’s most recent beef began last week as the billionaires argued over the merits of DEI programs. Cuban supported the idea of such initiatives helping companies to hire the best employees and deliver the best products, while Musk saw DEI as another example of purported anti-white racism. Musk’s suggestion of a UFC match is a nod to a similar fight proposal between Musk and Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg last year.
Musk’s $245.6 billion fortune makes him by far the richest person on the planet. About two-thirds of his net worth comes from his stake in electric vehicle giant Tesla, which Musk leads as CEO. Cuban is the 444th-wealthiest person in the world with a $6.2 billion fortune, having just sold a majority stake in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks at a $3.5 billion valuation.