Elon Musk's tweet about buying Manchester United: 'It was a joke'

According to The Guardian, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is facing backlash over his irreverent announcement on Twitter to buy the English Premier League giant Manchester United. The billionaire previously tweeted on Wednesday: 'I'm buying Manchester United ur welcome'.

Musk is not buying Manchester United

Musk's tweet sparked a frisson of excitement from disgruntled fans of the football club who have been eagerly waiting for the departure of its current owners - the Florida-based Glazers. However, just hours after the tweet garnered multiple questions and discussions from fans, the 51-year-old entrepreneur explained that the whole thing was 'just a joke'. He tweeted:

'No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams.'

He went on to slap in the faces of United's fans, claiming that Manchester United was 'his favorite club as a child'.

'Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav (sic) team as a kid.'

Shortly after he confirmed the promising deal was just a joke, the Manchester United Fans Club Kolkata wrote:

'It again reinstated the fact that Elon and his tweets are just gimmicks. Although it would have been great if he really invested 1/10th of what he paid for Twitter to own this legendary club ... the entire fan base is sick and tired of the Glazers.'

Musk's confusing joke has garnered over 600,000 likes and 100,000 retweets on the platform so far.

Musk's tweet boosted United's shares

As one of the most influential figures on the planet, every word uttered by Elon Musk can place a significant impact on any company's financial figures.

Following his joke, United's shares rose by 17% to £12.31 in the US pre-market trade before closing at £10.90. According to Forbes annual rankings this year, the long-standing English club is currently priced at $4.6 billion, despite its market cap being valued at just $2 billion on the New York Stock Exchange.

Manchester United is currently owned by the American Glazers, who acquired the club in 2005 for a whopping amount of $957 million. As one of the most prestigious and successful clubs in Britain, Manchester United has amassed a record 20 Premiere League titles since the tournament was first held in the 1992/1993 season. All their top-flight titles were notably won during the tenure of legendary Scottish manager Sir Alex Ferguson, whose retirement in 2013 has left United in a devastating strait.

In recent years, the club has been struggling to regain its past glory on the pitch, with no major title and several disappointing seasons with ripped-off transfers. After two games this season, amid high expectations from staunch supporters for a comeback under new coach Eric Ten Hag, United hasn't won any point and is embarrassingly rooted at the bottom of the table.

Musk's long history of jokes

This is not the first time the Tesla boss has revealed a potential acquisition on social media. Earlier this year, the world's wealthiest man made headlines after he announced his plan to purchase Twitter for $44 billion. However, only four months later, he is now trying to back out of the contract for fear that the social media is 'full of bots'.

On April 27, he continued his streak of irreverent jokes, tweeting:

'Next, I'm buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in'.

Just like his previous joke, the billionaire clarified his claim only days later:

'And I'm not buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in, despite the extreme popularity of such a move.'

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