“Musk should apologise”, say Indian Manchester United fans disappointed by his Twitter joke

Record ID: 1685184

  • Title: “Musk should apologise”, say Indian Manchester United fans disappointed by his Twitter joke
  • Date: 17th August 2022
  • Summary: GUWAHATI, ASSAM, INDIA (AUGUST 17, 2022) (ANI - No use India) (NIGHT SHOTS) PEOPLE OUTSIDE INDIRA GANDHI ATHLETIC STADIUM PEOPLE STANDING AS SOME CLICK PICTURES PEOPLE WALKING PEOPLE GATHERED NEAR A GIGANTIC FOOTBALL STRUCTURE (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) MANCHESTER UNITED FAN, GAUTAM DAIMARY, SAYING: "No, cracking such jokes is not right. So, he (Elon Musk) should apologise. As a (Manchester United) fan, I am saying he should not have done such a thing." BUS PLYING OUTSIDE STADIUM GIRL KICKING FOOTBALL IN NET/GIRLS STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) MANCHESTER UNITED FAN, RAHUL INGTI, SAYING: "Manchester United is a good team and many people like that team. Whatever Elon Musk said about Manchester is not good. We are very sad. I want to say that he should not say such things in the future ever again."
  • Embargoed: 31st August 2022 16:44
  • Keywords: Elon Musk Guwahati Inc. India Manchester United Mumbai Tesla Twitter billionaire fans joke soccer sports
  • Location: GUWAHATI, ASSAM/MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA/GRUENHEIDE, GERMANY/ BANGKOK, THAILAND/NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES/INTERNET
  • City: GUWAHATI, ASSAM/MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA/GRUENHEIDE, GERMANY/ BANGKOK, THAILAND/NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES/INTERNET
  • Country: Various
  • Topics: Soccer,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA001GPP6IJ3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Indian Manchester United fans said on Wednesday (August 17) that Elon Musk, the world's richest person, should apologise after he tweeted about buying the English soccer club - only to say a little later it was all part of "a long-running joke."
    One of the world's most successful soccer clubs, the "Red Devils" are languishing at the bottom of England's Premier League and, having seen eight coaches come and go in less than 10 years, some fans and investors are wondering whether it's time for the club's owners, the American Glazer family, to sell.
    "To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party! Also, I'm buying Manchester United ur (sic) welcome - Elon Musk," the 51-year-old billionaire CEO of Tesla tweeted to his 103 million followers.
    "Cracking such jokes is not right. So, he (Elon Musk) should apologise," said a fan, Gautam Daimary from northeastern Guwahati city.
    "Whatever Elon Musk said about Manchester is not good. We are very sad. I want to say that he should not say such things in the future ever again," said another fan from Mumbai, Rahul Ingti.
    Some of the club's fans had previously urged Musk on Twitter to consider buying the club, complaining at what they see as under-investment by the Glazers. United won the last of their record 20 English league titles back in 2013.
    Within six hours, Musk's tweet had attracted more than 500,000 'likes' on the club's main Twitter account - though some users didn't take it too seriously, comparing the post with Musk's troubled run at buying Twitter TWTR.N.
    But then came the clarification.
    "No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams," Musk posted when asked if he was serious.
    "Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U," he added. "They were my fav (sic) team as a kid."
    Even so, Musk's musings ignited trading in the company's U.S. listed shares ahead of the New York market open. They briefly jumped as much as 17%, before settling around $13.20, about 3% above Tuesday's closing price.
    Musk has a history of being unconventional and irreverent, making it hard sometimes to tell when he is joking.
    Musk's tweets about potential acquisitions have also landed him in hot water with U.S. regulators in the past.
    In 2018, he tweeted there was "funding secured" for a $72 billion deal to take Tesla private, but did not make an offer. Musk and Tesla each paid $20 million in civil fines - and Musk stepped down as Tesla's chairman - to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claims he defrauded investors.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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