The billionaire entrepreneur quipped that he’ll put the ‘coke’ back into Coca-Cola
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk is seen during a title boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Canelo Alvarez, in Las Vegas, Nevada, September 14, 2013. © AP / Mark J. Terrill
Tesla CEO Elon Musk joked that he would buy up the Coca-Cola Company after his high-profile purchase of Twitter, vowing to bring back an infamous – and now highly illegal – ingredient once contained in the drink.
Musk, who’s known for his social media antics and trolling posts, took to Twitter late on Wednesday night to ‘announce’ plans to buy the multi-billion dollar beverage corporation.
“Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in,” he said, playing on an increasingly popular meme instigated by his $44-billion purchase of Twitter earlier this week.
Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2022
While the soft drink has long been one of America’s most globally recognized cultural exports, its original formula contained some questionable ingredients, chief among them cocaine. According to Scientific American, the soda still features an extract from coca leaves – from which the illicit white power is derived – but only after they have been “de-cocainized.”
It’s unclear exactly when the Coca-Cola company removed the drug from its products, though it was likely sometime after the firm was purchased from the drink’s inventor, John Pemberton (himself a lifelong morphine user), in the late 1880s.
Musk’s decision to buy Twitter outright has made waves in recent days, triggering cries of outrage from critics who believe the Tesla CEO will overhaul Twitter’s more harsh content moderation policies against ‘hate’ and ‘disinformation.’ Supporters, meanwhile, have hailed his championing of online free speech, hoping he will bring political neutrality to a platform frequently accused of anti-conservative bias.
Amid backlash from detractors, Musk has since clarified that he defines “free speech” as whatever “matches the law,” appearing to walk back a previous statement that he is a “free speech absolutist.”
“If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect,” he said on Tuesday. “Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.”
