What’s the story
A recent court filing has revealed a surprising shift in the relationship between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
The two tech giants, who have had their fair share of public feuds, were seen discussing a potential collaboration in early 2025.
Zuckerberg offered his support for Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), indicating a possible end to their long-standing rivalry.
Zuckerberg offered takedowns, rejected OpenAI bid
In the text exchange, Zuckerberg offered his support by saying he’d have his teams on alert to take down any content doxxing or threatening Musk’s team.
The conversation also touched upon a possible joint bid for OpenAI, with Musk expressing interest in discussing it further. However, Zuckerberg ultimately decided not to pursue the bid.
Texts revealed in Musk OpenAI lawsuit
The text messages were revealed as part of Musk’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman.
The messages were dated February 3, 2025, just weeks after Zuckerberg announced Meta’s shift toward “free expression” and away from content moderation.
They were also shared on the same day a US Attorney pledged to protect DOGE employees from “disgruntled” critics.
Musk seeks to exclude Zuckerberg communications
Musk’s legal team has requested that his communications with Zuckerberg be excluded from the lawsuit.
They argued these exchanges are tangential and prejudicial, serving no purpose other than to incite negative feelings toward Musk due to his association with Zuckerberg.
The request was made in a separate filing also made public on Friday.
Judge bars ketamine questions in deposition
Musk’s legal team has also challenged questions about his alleged ketamine use and attendance at Burning Man.
A transcript from a video deposition showed Musk was asked if he had taken “rhino ket” at Burning Man in 2017, to which he replied no.
Despite a judge allowing OpenAI’s lawyers to ask “limited” questions about Burning Man, ketamine-related queries were not permitted.
