No, Elon Musk Is Not Buying [Insert Company Here]
Despite being one of the world’s richest (and presumably busiest) businesspeople, Elon Musk seems to spend a lot of time tweeting. And some of these tweets are him joking about buying random companies.Not only do these tweets affect the companies' stock prices, they often earn him scorn from the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC). But rest assured that Elon Musk is (probably) not buying [insert company name here].
Elon Musk Jokes About Buying Manchester United
If, like this writer, you are a long-suffering Manchester United fan, then you know it’s been a long time since “Glory Glory Man United” has been played anywhere. Many fans angrily point the finger of blame for the team’s sporting decline to its American owners, the Glazer family.
So it was refreshing to the team’s fraternity when, in the middle of yet another lackluster start to a season, Musk suddenly tweeted that he would buy Manchester United.
The tweet quickly received over 400,000 likes, and Manchester United’s shares in the New York Stock Exchange added 2.5% after consistently losing value over the previous year. Unfortunately for all concerned, Musk reversed himself a few hours later, saying it was only a joke.
Elon Musk Often Jokes About Buying Companies
Elon Musk has a history of bizarre tweets. When he tweeted that he had “secured funding” from investors to buy Tesla at $4.20 a share (a reference to marijuana), the SEC cracked the whip and forced him to step down as the chairman of Tesla, as well as fining him millions of dollars.
Musk doesn’t rattle easily though. Instead, he later secretly bought up Twitter shares and then offered to buy all of Twitter.
After his offer was surprisingly accepted by Twitter’s board, Musk tweeted that he would buy Coca-Cola next “to put the cocaine back in”.
Why Does Elon Musk Joke About Buying Companies?
Since Musk offered to buy Twitter, it has become a running joke between Musk and his fans for him to suggest that he will buy a company or concern that is close to his heart for some reason.
Elon Musk backed out of buying Twitter, a dispute that has since escalated to the courts. He also didn’t even attempt to buy Coca-Cola, even though he could afford to do so. And his claim to be interested in Manchester United was quickly revealed to be a joke. Thus, when he tweets he will buy a company, the opposite is probably true.
Twitter is nothing more than Elon Musk’s playground, and he is clearly addicted to the dopamine rush he gets from posting wild tweets that cause chaos in the business world and drive engagement on his account.
Elon Musk Won’t Stop Tweeting About Buying Companies
Musk seems to have no fear of the SEC, or the courts, so it’s safe to assume he will continue to entertain himself and his fans by tweeting about buying unsuspecting companies or concerns. The question is whether the stock markets will learn to ignore his claims the more he makes them.
Elon Musk has suggested the best way for Twitter users to “fix” their feeds.
Don’t let someone else take over your phone number.
So much time invested, and for what?
The key is not to spook your friends with over-the-top shenanigans.
When your rival has to bail out your assistant.
Goodbye sending links via other apps.
