It wasn’t immediately clear if the billionaire entrepreneur was joking given his past online antics
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford (L) vies for the ball with Brentford’s Aaron Hickey during the English Premier League soccer match at the Gtech Community Stadium in London, August 13, 2022. © AP / Ian Walton
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has vowed to buy the UK’s Manchester United football club, kicking off a storm of speculation on social media as observers asked whether the pledge was sincere.
After tweeting what appeared to be a political joke about his support for “left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party” on Tuesday night, Musk added nonchalantly that he would buy up the world-famous football club.
“Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur [sic] welcome,” he said, offering no elaboration.
The comment quickly sent waves through Twitter, with some users asking whether Musk was serious, while others all but begged the businessman to purchase the team, which has seen a shaky performance so far this season and is currently dead-last on the Premier League leaderboard. Some bashed ManU as a “joke,” however, and critics told Musk the investment would be a poor one.
Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2022
A well-followed Manchester fan account also warned that Musk had made a “legally binding” commitment to buy the club with his tweet, joking that he would be forced to do so under a recently passed bill in the US.
Elon this is a legally binding intent to purchase, it’s a new law in the inflation reduction act.
— UnitedMuppetiers (@Muppetiers) August 17, 2022
The tweet about Manchester is not the first time Musk has hinted at purchasing a major business concern somewhat at random, previously joking that he would like to buy Coca-Cola in order to “put the cocaine back in.” The quips appear to be linked to the CEO’s efforts to purchase Twitter for $41 billion, which have encountered obstacles and all but fizzled amid a dispute over the number of ‘bot’ accounts on the platform.
According to Forbes, Manchester United has an estimated value of some $4.6 billion and is a publicly traded company, currently owned by American business mogul Malcolm Glazer. That means Musk – among the world’s richest men – is likely to have the funds needed should he choose to purchase the club. In the event his tweet was sincere, Musk could face some competition, however, as UK businessman Michael Knighton has reportedly expressed interest in his own ManU takeover bid.
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