Elon Musk created a stir when he tweeted that he was buying Manchester United, an English soccer team whose current owners are disliked by many supporters, and then subsequently clarified that it was a joke. It happens at a time when the multi-billionaire Tesla CEO is engaged in a court struggle in the US after pulling out of a $44 billion bid to acquire Twitter. He frequently ponders social topics or makes jokes with his 103 million followers on the platform, and occasionally this gets him in conflict with American regulators.
Early Wednesday, Musk sent a tweet about his political affiliations and then added in a second tweet: "Also, I'm buying Manchester United ur welcome." That came as shocking news in the Manchester United world - albeit welcome to many - after nearly a decade of sub-par performances. Asked by a follower whether he was serious, Musk later tweeted, "No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams."
It wasn't Musk's first joke about buying a popular franchise. In April, he tweeted, "Next I'm buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in." He noted in the thread about Manchester United that the Coca-Cola tweet had also been in jest.
For tweets asserting that he had the resources to take Tesla private in 2018, Musk previously got into trouble with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which caused the stock price of the electric vehicle manufacturer to soar. Due to the securities fraud settlement that resulted, his tweets now need to be authorised by a Tesla lawyer before being posted.
He is already dealing with additional legal issues related to the April transaction he made to purchase Twitter. Musk arranged for a diversified group of other investors to support him and sold around $8.5 billion worth of Tesla shares to help pay for the acquisition.
The deal fell apart last month after Musk said Twitter refused to provide him with enough information about the number of fake accounts on the platform. Twitter could have tried to make him pay a $1 billion breakup fee that he agreed to but instead is suing to force him to complete the purchase. The case is set to go to trial in Delaware in October.
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Elon Musk to buy Manchester United? A tweet caused a stir