“Additionally, I am shopping for Manchester United ur welcome,” Musk instructed his 103 million followers on Twitter, with out providing any particulars.

Hours later — and after a number of information articles had been revealed about his daring declare — Musk clarified that it was all a joke.

“No, this can be a long-running joke on Twitter. I am not shopping for any sports activities groups,” he mentioned after a person requested him if he was critical concerning the buy.

Requested about Musk’s tweet, a Manchester United (MANU) spokesperson instructed CNN Enterprise that “we don’t touch upon rumors and hypothesis.”

Shares of Manchester United, listed on the New York Inventory Change, initially soared after hours Tuesday following the tweet however pulled again from their positive aspects. The inventory was nonetheless up about 3% in early buying and selling Wednesday although.

In line with Forbes, Manchester United is value $4.6 billion. Managed by the Glazer household, which additionally personal NFL franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Manchester United is likely one of the greatest soccer golf equipment on the earth but it surely hasn’t received the English Premier League title since 2013.
In his 13 years on Twitter, the platform has grow to be an essential a part of Musk’s private model. It is a spot the place he communicates about his enterprise ventures, lashes out at folks he views as detractors, makes market-moving commentary about cryptocurrencies and shares the occasional meme.

He even quipped in a 2019 tweet: “Some folks use their hair to specific themselves, I take advantage of Twitter.”

Nevertheless, Musk’s tweets about Tesla have landed him in scorching water, a number of occasions, with the US Securities and Change Fee. His feud with the SEC dates again to his now-infamous 2018 tweet stating, “Am contemplating taking Tesla personal at $420. Funding secured.”

The nine-word tweet despatched Tesla inventory surging on the time, however the SEC then accused him of deceptive buyers. Musk and regulators finally reached a deal that included, amongst different provisions, a requirement that Musk acquire pre-approval from different Tesla executives previous to tweeting concerning the firm.

The billionaire’s tweets relating to Manchester United come at a time when he’s making an attempt to terminate his $44 billion acquisition of the social platform. Twitter has taken him to court docket over his try to exit the deal.

-— Robert Mclean contributed to this story.