ELON Musk’s latest claims about his proposed cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg are a publicity stunt to boost his X social media platform, according to his dad.

The Tesla tycoon, 52, put out a flurry of messages last week about the mooted match-up with his tech rival.

He claimed that the MMA-style fight would be going ahead at an “epic location” in Italy and revealed plans to stream it live on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The South Africa-born Tesla CEO also said the fight would be promoted by his and Meta boss Zuckerberg’s foundations rather than the UFC.

Meanwhile, Zuckerberg, 39, responded by casting doubt on the battle of the billionaires ever going ahead.

He wrote on his Threads social media app on Sunday: “I think we can all agree Elon isn’t serious, and it’s time to move on.”

And while couching it in more favorable terms, Elon’s father, Errol, 77, seems to agree with Zuck.

Speaking from his home in South Africa, the retired electromechanical engineer exclusively told The U.S. Sun: “It’s to get publicity for X. Elon’s not faking it, just drawing attention to X.

“A fight would be silly. It’s so high school and banal.

“Whatever Elon is doing here is far removed from his immediate tasks.

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“People probably ask him about this fight thing. What must he say? ‘No?’

“That would look pretty poor. What can he say? ‘Oh yes, it will be on X!’

“That seems like a more likely reply. Get something out of the reporting for X.

“Elon is busy with many things. I don’t think he’d give this much thought other than people asking him about it, and he feels the need to reply. It’s not complicated.

“Consider that the new Tesla is coming out, Starship is ready to go, Starlink is bursting at the seams.

“He’s got AI left, right, and center, Twitter is a major headache, then he gets asked: ‘Are you going to fight Zuckerberg?’”

Errol exclusively revealed to The U.S. Sun last week that the fight has potentially been put at risk by an old neck injury he suffered in a skiing accident.

It came after Musk claimed on Monday that he may require surgery and is planning to receive an MRI on his neck and upper back.

Errol backs him, saying the injury is no cheap excuse and adding: “Elon hurt himself skiing a while back. He fell at speed.”

Responding to last week’s claims from Musk, Zuckerberg slammed him on Sunday, saying: “I offered a real date.

“(UFC boss) Dana White offered to make this a legit competition for charity.

“Elon won’t confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead.”

The claim about the backyard practice round was new, and it is not clear if, how, or when Musk supposedly made that offer.

The new revelations come after Errol told The U.S. Sun in June that he believes Elon has put himself in a “no-win situation” with the proposed cage fight.

He said the “humiliation would be total” for Elon if he loses against Zuckerberg.

He also slammed an AI-generated pic of his son as “totally inaccurate” and shared childhood pics to prove his point.

In April, Errol revealed details about his claim to have once bought a share in an emerald mine in Zambia, which Elon has disputed.

Earlier this year, Errol told The U.S. Sun that his son is a big fan of French emperor Napoleon and believed the internet would have been invented by the year 1900 if the legendary general hadn’t been defeated.

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In September last year, The U.S. Sun revealed how Errol killed three armed intruders Clint Eastwood-style in South Africa in 1998 while his then six-year-old daughter Ali clung to his leg.

Also last year, The U.S. Sun revealed Errol’s claim that he had fathered a second child with his stepdaughter, Jana and that he had been asked to donate his sperm to impregnate high-class women in Colombia.

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