Musk's tweet about buying Manchester United no joke for fed up fans

Elon Musk, the world's richest person, briefly lifted the gloom over Manchester United's shares and fans on Wednesday by tweeting he was 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 clubs, the Red Devils are languishing at the bottom of the 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.

Enter the billionaire CEO of Tesla.

"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 tweeted to his 103 million followers.

Some of the club's fans had previously urged Mr 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, Mr 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 Mr Musk's troubled run at buying Twitter.

But then came the clarification.

"No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams," Mr 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."

The Florida-based Glazers, Mr Musk and his lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Manchester United declined to comment.

United fans were not impressed.

"It's just a tweet from somebody who not always thinking twice