Controversial billionaire Elon Musk responded to speculation that MSNBC could be put up for sale, asking on Friday how much the cable news network would set him back.
The Comcast media conglomerate announced Wednesday it planned to spin some of its NBCUniversal properties — including MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen and E! — into “a new publicly traded company.”
The announcement prompted some social media users, including Donald Trump Jr., to suggest the world’s richest man should buy MSNBC.
Many of the left-leaning network’s hosts, including Joe Scarborough, Rachel Maddow and Mika Brzezinski, have been critical of Musk and the MAGA movement he supports.
“Hey @elonmusk I have the funniest idea ever!!!” Trump Jr. posted on Friday alongside a graphic joking that MSNBC would sell for the “best offer.”
“How much does it cost?” replied Musk, whose net worth was estimated to have reached a record high of $321.7 billion on Friday.
Musk’s response was very similar to the one he gave in 2017 when some social media users suggested he buy Twitter. Five years later, he spent $44 billion to purchase the platform, which he renamed X and has since used to promote his right-wing ideology and conspiracy theories.
“I mean it can’t be much,” Trump Jr. wrote back. “Look at the ratings.”
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MSNBC viewership reportedly plummeted 38% after Election Day, according to The Wrap.
Musk’s banter with Trump Jr. continued, with the entrepreneur writing, “The most entertaining outcome, especially if ironic, is most likely.”
While Comcast made no mention of selling MSNBC to Musk, the big-spending tech wiz has proven he can take over companies despite resistance from their board of directors, just as he did with Twitter.
Speculation about Musk buying a progressive cable news network comes a week after satirical site The Onion announced it had purchased Alex Jones’ far-right “InfoWars” empire in a bankruptcy auction.
Jones was forced to sell the disgraced brand to satisfy a judgment against him in connection with the lies and conspiracy theories he pushed about the 2012 massacre at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School. A Texas judge has delayed that acquisition while a court reviews details of the bidding process.