1288.经济学人-Musk v Zuckerberg: who’s winning?-2

Such was the tenor of their relationship when Mr Musk proposed a cage match with Mr Zuckerberg in June last year just before Meta launched a short-messaging app, Threads, to compete with Mr Musk’s Twitter (now X).

Forget the physical fight that never happened. In business terms, even then Mr Musk had the upper hand.

He was the richest man on Earth. Tesla’s market value, though falling, was higher than Meta’s. Its revenues were growing faster. Yet since then, he could not have kicked himself harder in the teeth.

In the past few weeks Tesla has shocked investors with a horror-show earnings presentation. Mr Musk’s $56bn pay package from 2018 was rescinded by a judge, which has slashed his net worth. From America to China, his EVs have suffered recalls.

这是《经济学人》2024年2月刊的一篇文章'Musk v Zuckerberg: who’s winning?'第2段。

1

tenor：要领

去年6月，就在Meta推出短信应用程序Threads与马斯克先生的Twitter（现在的X）竞争之前，马斯克提议与扎克伯格进行一场笼中比赛，这就是他们关系的基调。

2

忘记从未发生过的肢体冲突。从商业角度来看，即使在当时，马斯克也占据了上风。

3

kicked in the teeth. ：遭到严重打击

他是地球上最富有的人。特斯拉的市值虽然下跌，但仍高于 Meta。它的收入增长的更快。然而自那以后，他再不可能让自己遭受更严重的挫折了。

4

过去几周，特斯拉的恐怖秀财报震惊了投资者。法官撤销了马斯克 2018 年 560 亿美元的薪酬方案，这导致他的净资产大幅削减。从美国到中国，他的电动汽车遭遇了召回。

词汇

tenor：要领

kicked in the teeth. ：遭到严重打击