London – Elon Musk caused an uproar when he tweeted that he was buying the English soccer team Manchester United – whose current owners are opposed by many fans – and then said several hours later it was a joke.
It comes as the billionaire Tesla CEO faces a legal battle in the US after backing out of a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. He is a prolific user of the platform, often thinking about social issues or joking with his 103 million followers and occasionally getting into trouble with US regulators.
Early on Wednesday, Musk sent a tweet about his political affiliations and then added in a second tweet: “Also, I’m buying Manchester United Welcome.”
It came as shocking news in the world of Manchester United – albeit welcome to many – after nearly a decade of subpar performance.
Asked by a follower if he was serious, Musk later tweeted, “No, that’s a long Twitter joke. I’m not buying any sports teams.”
It wasn’t Musk’s first joke about buying a popular franchise. In April, he tweeted: “Then I will buy Coca-Cola to bring cocaine back.” He noted in the Manchester United thread that the Coca-Cola tweet was also a joke.
Musk previously faced a conflict with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over tweets claiming he had the funding needed to make Tesla private in 2018, sending the electric car maker’s stock price soaring. This led to a securities fraud settlement requiring Tesla’s attorney to approve his tweets before they could be posted.
He is now facing more legal troubles over the Twitter purchase deal he negotiated in April. Musk sold nearly $8.5 billion of Tesla stock to help fund the purchase and a variety of other investors have lined up to support him.
The deal collapsed 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 get him to pay a $1 billion breakup fee he agreed to, but instead is suing him to force him to complete the purchase. The case is due to go to trial in Delaware in October.
Musk, with his seemingly limitless potential to buy the world’s best footballers, has been a welcome opportunity for many Man United fans who would like to see the club return to the top of the game.
Man United was arguably the biggest football team in the world under coach Alex Ferguson, winning 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League cups. But since Ferguson retired in 2013, the team has struggled to win titles.
Last season, United finished 35 points behind champions Manchester City – the club’s domestic rival – and there were protests against the Glazers, the team’s US owners.
Many fans in the club’s huge fan base have opposed the Glazers since they took control in 2005, in part because they financed the takeover by putting the club in debt for the first time in decades.
The latest drop came on Saturday when United lost 4-0 to Brentford, a small West London side that had been promoted to the Premier League in 2021. It was United’s second consecutive defeat in the season opener, leaving them in last place in the 20-team Premier League.
The Manchester United fan group, known as MUST, has condemned the owners after last weekend’s game.
The fan club said: “What we witnessed tonight was an embarrassment – no, humiliation – for the Manchester United fans. However it was not surprising in many ways. It appears to be the culmination of a long-term trend of travel.” in the current situation. “The club’s owners must be held primarily responsible for this new decline in our decade of decline.”
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