Manchester United share rises after Elon Musk jokes about buying the club

Shares of the English soccer club Manchester United briefly rose by as much as 17% in premarket trading after Elon Musk joked about buying the club.

“Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome,” the billionaire wrote on Twitter. Hours later, Musk responded to a Twitter user asking if he was serious about buying the club and clarified that it was a joke. He said that if he purchased any team, it would be Man U because they were his favorite team as a kid.

Manchester United shares are traded under the abbreviation MANU on the New York Stock Exchange. They were up 3.68% in premarket trading as of 4:30 a.m. ET, paring gains after initially surging 17% after the tweet.

Musk’s original tweet incited a widespread reaction and had been re-tweeted over 140 000 times and gained over 573 000 likes at the time of writing. Manchester United fans reacted surprised yet hopefully, as many have criticized the American Glazer family, current club owners. This is linked to the club’s slow start to the current season of the English Premier League, notching two losses in two games. The club has also been part of the failed attempt to set up the European Super League last year.