The four problems with this "Escapte Hatch:" 

(1) Facebook is that Facebook’s core social media business is aging, and younger users are abandoning its apps in favor of TikTok, Snapchat and other, cooler apps.  That is, Facebook is "Weaker than we Knew:" 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/technology/facebook-files.html

(2) The second problem Facebook’s metaverse strategy could address, if it works, is platform risk.

(3) The third problem Facebook faces is regulatory risk. Facebook is not on the verge of being broken up, exactly, but regulators are making enough noise about restricting its growth (by establishing new privacy laws or preventing it from acquiring the next Instagram, for example) that it makes sense to place bets in some areas, like V.R. and A.R., that are less likely to be regulated any time soon. 

(4) The fourth problem, of course, is the reputational damage Facebook has sustained as a result of its many missteps and scandals over the years. For years, anything Facebook does — even projects that have nothing to do with social networking, like introducing a cryptocurrency wallet — has been tainted by association. And given that dozens of media outlets are still poring through a year’s worth of damning internal research, the company’s public image is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Regardless, this isn’t a vanity stunt for Mr. Zuckerberg. In the metaverse, he has found what may be an escape hatch — a way to eject himself from Facebook’s messy, troubled present and break ground on a new, untainted frontier. No wonder he looks so happy.