Musk tweets about buying Manchester United while joking on US politics

Elon Musk made the claim in a tweet thread where he stated he supported the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democrats

Prolific tweeter Elon Musk said he is buying British football club Manchester United Plc. in a thread joking about his political allegiances.  
 

The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer and world’s richest person made the claim in a tweet thread where he stated he supported the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democrats. 

More recently, he has drawn scrutiny from regulators over a May 17 tweet that his $44 billion takeover bid for Twitter Inc. “cannot move forward.” Musk backed away from the purchase last month, spurring a lawsuit from the company to make him complete the deal. 

The latest tweets could also attract regulatory attention, given Manchester United securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Class-A shares have fallen 10% this year. 

Manchester United is valued at $4.6 billion, according to Forbes. In the most recent sale of a Premier League powerhouse, a group led by Todd Boehly agreed to buy Chelsea FC from sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich for £4.25 billion ($5.1 billion), including future investments.

Andrew Ward, Manchester United’s director of media relations and public affairs, didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment sent outside of normal business hours

Manchester United, who have won a record 13 Premier League titles, is currently last on the table after a disastrous start to the season under new coach Erik ten Hag, losing its opening two games -- including a 4-0 defeat to Brentford on the weekend. 

Fans have protested the performance of the storied club under the ownership of the Glazer family, which also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At the opening home game of the season -- a 2-1 loss to Brighton -- a large group of fans walked toward the stadium with banners that read: “Fight greed. Fight for United. Fight Glazers” and “We want our club back,” the Telegraph newspaper reported.

United won its last Premier League title under legendary coach Alex Ferguson in the 2012-13 season, and has since fallen behind crosstown rival Manchester City, which has won four of the past five titles. Wantaway star striker Cristiano Ronaldo will be allowed to leave Manchester United this summer if he can find a club to buy him, the Telegraph reported.