- Palmer Luckey advised MIT Technology Review he is nonetheless “sore” about being ousted from Facebook in 2017.
- But the billionaire VR guru stated he does not blame Mark Zuckerberg or the fashionable iteration of Meta.
Palmer Luckey continues to be offended about his ousting from Facebook eight years in the past — however the billionaire digital actuality guru does not blame Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Luckey, 32, advised the MIT Technology Review this month that he is not offended with the social media firm’s high govt over the occasions that resulted in Luckey leaving the corporate three years after he bought Oculus VR to Facebook for $2 billion,
“I’ve much more anger for the individuals who lied in a method that ruined my complete life and that noticed my very own firm ripped out from underneath me that I’d spent my complete grownup life constructing,” he advised the outlet.
“I’ve bought loads of anger left, however it’s not at Meta, the company entity,” Luckey added. “It’s not at Zuck.”
A consultant for Meta didn’t instantly reply to Business Insider’s request for remark.
Luckey, who went on to create Anduril, a protection tech firm that has gained a number of authorities contracts, left Meta in 2017 after his $10,000 political contribution to a pro-Trump group grew to become public. At the time, Meta — then Facebook — denied that Luckey’s departure was associated to politics.
Luckey stays a supporter of former President Donald Trump and co-hosted fundraisers for him in each 2020 and 2024.
Much of his remaining ire, Luckey advised the outlet, is reserved for much less well-known individuals concerned within the scenario, comparable to public relations brokers, reporters, and legal professionals.
Luckey famous that he’s nonetheless mad concerning the steps Facebook took to attempt to maintain him from sharing his model of occasions on the time, saying he wrote some statements however by no means revealed them due to threats from the corporate.
“Anyway,” Luckey advised MIT. “I’m nonetheless sore about it eight years later.”
In an August profile written by Tablet journal, Luckey described himself as a “crusader for vengeance” with regard to his ouster.
“Right now, I achieve nothing by correcting the report of issues that [Facebook] did fallacious eight years in the past,” he advised the outlet. “If it is higher for me to bury it, I’ll.”
At the identical time, Luckey stated he does not wish to throw Zuckerberg underneath the bus as a result of he needs Meta to maintain investing in VR.
The firm has misplaced tens of billions of {dollars} on its Reality Labs division, which is liable for augmented actuality, although Zuckerberg has stated VR funding is a “long-term guess,” BI beforehand reported, citing earnings.
Meanwhile, Zuck advised Tablet that he had a “big quantity of respect” for Palmer and stated he hoped the 2 may work collectively once more sooner or later.
Luckey’s almost decade-old resentments continued to thaw in latest weeks.
At a Pepperdine University interview earlier this month, Luckey stated he had not too long ago visited Meta’s headquarters for the primary time since he left the corporate to demo the brand new Orion glasses.
He additionally accepted an apology from Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth over a earlier social media argument the 2 had about his ouster.
“I’m infamously good at holding grudges, however Meta has modified rather a lot over the previous 8 years,” Luckey wrote on X earlier this month. “The individuals liable for my ouster and inside/exterior smear marketing campaign aren’t even round anymore.”
