Elon Musk says tweet about buying Manchester United was ‘long-running joke’ – New York Daily News

Elon Musk used the platform he wanted to buy for $44 billion to announce he was buying English soccer team Manchester United — just kidding.

The Tesla CEO did, in fact, announce on Twitter that he was buying the embattled club just days after an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Brentford — only to clarify later that it was all a “joke.”

“I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party,” the South African-born billionaire tweeted Tuesday night to his 103 million followers.

“Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome,” he added in a follow-up tweet.

Once a soccer powerhouse, the “Red Devils” have been dealing with a long, unlucky streak. The team won the last of its record-setting 20 English league titles nearly a decade ago.

Musk’s joke comes as some Manchester United fans shared on social media their desire for new ownership.

But after a Twitter follower asked if the controversial 51-year-old billionaire was serious about the proposal, Musk clarified his statement.

“I’m not buying any sports teams,” he wrote.

“Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid,” he added.

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“And I’m not buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in, despite the extreme popularity of such a move,” he added in another tweet, referring to a joke he tweeted in April.

All jokes on acquisitions aside, Musk is getting ready for a court battle with Twitter.

Last month, the microblogging site pursued legal action against Musk after he backed out of a deal to buy the platform for $54.20 per share, in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion, which he announced in April.

He later attempted to terminate the agreement, claiming that Twitter has failed to provide an accurate account of fake accounts, or “spam bots.”

Twitter sued the billionaire, who later filed a countersuit accusing the company of fraud.

In July, a judge in Delaware agreed with Twitter that a trial to force Musk to complete his $44 billion acquisition deal should be fast-tracked.

The case is set to go on trial in October.