Elon Musk tweets about buying Manchester United, reality or a joke?
While the news was surprising, it isn’t if you’re like Elon Musk, who has a net worth of $262 billion. Everyone is wondering if the world’s richest man will buy Manchester United. Although it wasn’t confirmed, it sent the football world and social media frenzy.
On Wednesday, the billionaire posted his plans to acquire the famous football club on Twitter. Musk wrote on Twitter, “Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome.”
This new season, United started in a rough patch. After two defeats brought them to the bottom of the Premier League, it even sends speculations that star player Cristiano Ronaldo might leave. With the new contract offers in place but failing to transpire.
Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2022
Manchester United club has been in a downturn since its manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Many blame the Glazer family, which has owned the club since 2005. This is why Musk’s tweet sparked a glimmer of hope. But his first tweet has a follow-up post.
And so the first tweet sent the Twitter world abuzz. His recent Twitter stunt earned 730,000 likes as of this writing. However, to burst the football fans’ bubble, Musk tweeted again after 4 1/2 hours.
The Tesla CEO confirmed that he was joking about buying the English football club. When a Tesla fan club account confirmed whether Musk was serious, the business mogul replied, “No.” He isn’t planning to buy any sports teams.
No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2022
Moreover, Musk also tweeted that if we were to buy a sports team, it would be Manchester United. According to him, it was his favorite team growing up.
Manchester United was also listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It was worth $4.6 billion this year. Due to Elon Musk’s tweet, the club’s stocks had a 4.9% increase, amounting to $13.40. Their stocks also show a 17% gain at the start of the trading.
Knowing Elon Musk and his Twitter stunts, it’s no surprise that he might not be serious in his first tweet. He also had issues with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018. When he claimed that he had the funds to make Tesla private. Moreso, this move led to security fraud charges and a settlement deal. In their agreement, Tesla should appoint an in-house “Twitter sitter’ who would pre-approve posts with information about the company.
Elon Musk has (jokingly?) said he is buying Manchester United.
But $MANU is traded. Here's where it gets weird.$MANU gets 0 options activity. Two days ago, someone did 450k, sustained volume, in $14 calls expiring 31 days, 3500% increase in volume.
Planned joke on markets? pic.twitter.com/oYX4iLRyaq
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) August 17, 2022
Recently, Musk was in the SEC’s eyes again when he tweeted on May 17 that his Twitter acquisition won’t move forward. He cited some of the reasons why he is hesitant with the purchase. One is that the CEO should prove claims about the total number of bots.
Last month, Musk decided to terminate the deal. This leads to Twitter suing him. It was Twitter’s move to push him to complete the purchase.
Furthermore, Musk’s tweets about Manchester United could attract attention as the club has been trading on the NYSE since 2012. According to Bloomberg, interest in call options soared to more than 60,000 contracts from just 20,000 contracts in two days of trading.
A counsel expert at the US Department of Justice, Hui Chen, said, “When someone in his position makes comments about buying an entity, people start speculating: Is he joking, not joking, half-joking? His actions have a major impact on markets, and he needs to be cognizant about the potential implications.”
