Is Elon Musk buying Man Utd? What did Tesla owner say about Manchester United on Twitter - net worth explained

Could the richest man in the world be about to buy Manchester United? Sadly for supporters of the struggling Premier League side the answer is no.

Fans of the Red Devils may have gotten more than a little excited when American billionaire Elon Musk tweeted that he was buying the club this morning before quickly realising the social media post was part of a long running joke by the 51-year old magnate.

Manchester United are currently owned by the Glazer family but supporters have voiced their displeasure with the way the Americans are running the club in recent years, so any whiff that a potential takeover could be on the cards would be considered news to celebrate by a vocal section of the fanbase.

Here is what Elon Musk tweeted earlier about “buying” Manchester United:

“I’m buying Manchester United” - Elon Musk jokes about Premier League club takeover on Twitter

Elon Musk, the founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer at SpaceX and CEO of Tesla Motors, has a reported net worth of $265.7 billion USD.

That makes him the richest man in the world, according to Forbes, so it would be a significant moment in world football if he decided to purchase any team - let alone one of the biggest in the Premier League.

The 51-year old tweeted: “Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome” in a reply to a tweet of his own which said “To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party!”

Despite the comment being, very obviously, tongue-in-cheek, any hopes that there might have been a grain of truth were quickly extinguished when Musk replied to one of his 103.4 million followers soon after.

Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) replied to Musk’s tweet about United asking “Are you serious?” to which he gave a straight, decisive answer.

He said: “No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams.”

That appears to have put an end to the matter once and for all but there was one final tweet from the American that may have just left the door open a tiny fraction...

Does Elon Musk support Manchester United?

Musk’s final response to the thread was to confirm that, if he ever was to try and buy a sports club, it would be Manchester United, due to his boyhood support of the team.

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

So, although he has ruled out purchasing the club for the time being, there may be a chance some way down the line that Musk has a change of heart over not wanting to own a sports team and decides to make his move to purchase the Red Devils.

Don’t count on that happening anytime soon though, as the South African born businessman is not only the richest man in the world but one of the busiest an isn’t likely to have time to make a move into Premier League football in the immediate future.