An Elon Musk Joke About Twitter Deal Is 2022’s Top Tweet

Topline

Elon Musk and Twitter are set for a showdown in court after the world’s richest man said he was backing out of a $44 billion agreement to buy the company, even after his tweets figuratively took over the platform in the spring—especially one joking about the deal.

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer Award 2020 on … [+] December 1, 2020, in Berlin.

Hannibal Hanschke-Pool/Getty Images

Key Facts

Musk tweeted, “Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in,” on August 27—two days after Twitter’s board accepted his unsolicited offer to buy the company.

The joke turned out to be a hit, at least in terms of interactions, racking up more than 870,000 retweets and 4.8 million likes, making it by far the most popular tweet to date of 2022.

The tweet is the second most-liked of all time, behind only a 2020 tweet from Chadwick Boseman’s account announcing the actor’s death.

Posts from Musk dominated Twitter following the announcement of the deal, with the billionaire penning the eight most popular tweets during the week Twitter accepted the $44 billion offer.

Key Background

Musk stated he wanted to buy Twitter because he saw it as a public good that was being mishandled through heavy-handed moderation tactics that he claimed were censoring right-wing political views. But cracks in the agreement started appearing May 13, when Musk tweeted that the deal was “on hold” because he felt Twitter did not prove its claim that bot and spam accounts make up less than 5% of accounts on the platform. Musk used the same reasoning on July 8 when he informed Twitter he was “terminating” the deal. The company swiftly filed a lawsuit against the billionaire in Delaware Chancery Court in response, arguing Musk had engaged in a “fishing expedition” to find problems with Twitter’s estimate of the number of fake accounts by making “increasingly invasive and unreasonable requests.” Twitter is asking the court to force Musk to complete the transaction.

What To Watch For

A trial will begin in Delaware, on October 17, if a settlement isn’t reached between Musk and Twitter.

News Peg

Musk sold roughly $6.9 billion worth of Tesla stock in dozens of transactions between Friday and Tuesday. He tweeted Tuesday night that the sale was to ensure he has enough cash on hand “in the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close.” Musk has liquidated more than $31 billion worth of Tesla stock in a series of sales that started in November.

Forbes Valuation

We estimate Musk to be worth $261.7 billion, making him the wealthiest person in the world.

An Elon Musk Joke About Twitter Deal Is 2022’s Top Tweet—As Court Fight Looms Over It