For all of Musk’s flaws, lack of long-term vision is not one of them. Tesla and SpaceX are doing things others once thought impossible. And he surely couldn’t have done it without hiring senior executives, which the Glazers were abysmal at.
CONTROVERSIAL FOOTBALL CLUB OWNERS
And Musk probably wouldn’t be the most provocative owner in the world – or even the Premier League, which is full of controversial owners and sports-washing suspicions.
Newcastle United was taken over in 2021 by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, just three years after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The spending of Manchester City, owned by UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour, has attracted almost as much attention as their success on the pitch.
The American owners who make up more than half of the Premier League mainly seem to be in it for the return on capital, when what fans usually want is unlimited spending and ambition. A wave of Chinese purchases of European clubs in the mid-2010s raised eyebrows, although it was largely slowed down.
Whether Musk would have passed the ‘fit and proper person’ test for ownership of English football is a question we can – for now – avoid answering.
But with United next facing rivals Liverpool, to whom they lost by an aggregate 9-0 in two games last season, forgive fans for hoping Musk’s tweet will inspire another benevolent billionaire.