Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to...: Elon Musk's latest tweet creates a flutter!

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, is often in news for his tweets, and a few days back, after he sealed the deal to buy the hugely popular Twitter for $44 billion, he was all over social media platforms. Musk joined Twitter in 2010 and now has more than 85 million followers - the seventh-most of any account and the highest for any business leader. 

After creating a buzz over his Twitter deal and his emphasis on free speech, Musk's latest tweet is now going viral. On Thursday morning (India time), Musk tweeted, saying, "Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in". 

 

Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2022

The tweet has already been retweeted more than 1,45,000 times (it's going up by the second) and has attracted thousands of comments. One user asked Musk if he can "buy the IRS and abolish taxes", while another quipped he is "too poor" to buy Coke. Some netizens slammed him sayings drugs are banned in their country, while several others shared memes. Some users also complained that Musk will spoil their Twitter experience, whereas many took the tweet in a light-hearted manner and indulged in some banter.

Elon Musk and his tweets

A report in Associated Press (AP) mentions that playful, aggressive and often juvenile, Musk's past tweets show how he has used social media to craft his public image as a brash billionaire unafraid to offend. They may also reveal clues as to how Musk will govern the platform he hopes to own. "Look at the feed: It's all over the place. It's erratic. At times it's pretty extreme," Jennifer Grygiel, a Syracuse University professor who studies social media and who recently assigned Musk's tweets as reading material for their students, was quoted by the news agency AP. "It paints him as some sort of rebel leader who will take control of the public square to save it. That is a myth he has constructed."

As the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Musk uses his Twitter account to make business announcements and promote his enterprises, reports AP. He muses about technology and trade, but has also posted jokes about women's breasts and once compared Canada's prime minister to Hitler. He regularly weighs in on global events, as he did in March 2020 when he tweeted that "the coronavirus pandemic is dumb."

He's also used the account to punch back at critics, such as when he called a diver working to rescue boys trapped in a cave in Thailand a "pedo," short for pedophile. The diver had previously criticized Musk's proposal to use a sub to rescue the boys. Musk, who won a defamation suit filed by the diver, later said he never intended "pedo" to be interpreted as "pedophile."
 

(With inputs from AP)