Elon Musk Tweets That He’s Buying Manchester United

Elon Musk has been known to stir things up on Twitter occasionally, and he ventured into the sports world in that regard Tuesday night.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla who currently holds the distinction of being the world’s wealthiest person, made a bold proclamation to his 103 million followers in announcing his intention to buy Manchester United.

As many suspected, he was kidding.

Manchester United could use a spark of some sort after losing its first two matches under new manager Erik ten Hag. The club lost 2-1 at home against Brighton on Aug. 7 and was humbled 4-0 at Brentford this past Sunday.

How bad is it? After Sunday’s match, United was taunted with chants about relegation. 

Musk tweeted that he would buy the club around 8 p.m. ET. Over four hours later he confirmed that he was kidding, calling it a “long-running joke on Twitter.”

Musk did add that if he were to buy any team, Manchester United would be the pick. “They were my fav team as a kid,” he said.

Manchester United is valued at an estimated $4.6 billion by Forbes. Musk’s tweet could attract regulatory attention, according to Bloomberg, because Manchester United is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The club’s Class-A shares have fallen 10% this year, Bloomberg reports.

The Glazer family, which also owns the NFL’s Buccaneers, are the current controlling shareholders of Manchester United, and many fans have protested in recent years to try and pressure them to sell the team as it continues to slide into irrelevance.