Elon Musk tweeted on Tuesday that “I’m not buying any sports teams”, calling a viral post about buying Manchester United a joke.
The world’s richest man has a habit of making inflammatory statements on Twitter just for the sake of pranks and Musk was at it again when he told his more than 103 million followers: “Plus, I’m buying your welcome to Manchester United.”
The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the remarks in response to another of his tweets about his support for the two major political parties in the United States.
The 51-year-old, who is embroiled in a lawsuit over his bid to buy Twitter, was later asked on stage if he was serious about owning Manchester United.
“No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying a sports team,” Musk replied, garnering nearly 500,000 “likes” within hours of his original tweet .
“However, if it were a team, it would be Man U. They were my favorite team as a kid.”
Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in world football but suffering a prolonged recession, is owned by the Glazer family. Angry fans have targeted him. There was no immediate reaction from United or its owners on Musk’s tweet.
Shares of the team listed on the New York Stock Exchange declined year over year, but ended Tuesday, with a market capitalization of $2.1 billion (about Rs 16,655 crore).
Despite calling it a joke, Musk’s tweet could land him in trouble with US regulators. Glazers are the center of fan fury after the team’s dramatic fall from grace. The Americans also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an NFL franchise in Florida.
United fans have criticized the team’s senior management for poor performances in recent years, as well as their involvement in plans to start a new “Super League” featuring Europe’s richest teams.
The Red Devils finished sixth in the English Premier League last season. United have made another poor start to the campaign under their new coach Erik ten Haag and are bottom of the table after two losses in as many matches.
New protests are planned ahead of United’s next game against the Glazers, on 22 August at home to fierce rivals Liverpool.
Musk, who recently sold shares of Tesla worth nearly $7 billion (about Rs 55,517 crore), is in a major legal battle in the US state of Delaware over his scrapped plans to buy Twitter.
