Elon Musk joked that he was mulling a purchase of liberal-leaning cable news network MSNBC in a post to X on Friday.
The world's richest man and Tesla CEO is a member of Donald Trump's administration. Musk chimed in about the potential sale of the Trump-averse network after being alerted to it on X, a social media company he also owns, by Donald Trump Jr.
Trump Jr. pitched a purchase to Musk as the "funniest idea ever" on X.
“How much does it cost?” Musk replied.
MSNBC parent company Comcast announced on Wednesday that it's looking to spin the network off into a new entity along with several other cable channels like USA, Oxygen and CNBC.
The shareholder-owned spin-off grouping of NBCUniversal's cable networks — called SpinCo for the time being — will theoretically be able to focus on rapid growth in a way that the Comcast conglomerate can not. Comcast chairman Brian Roberts said the move "set these businesses up for future growth,” but Musk and others can't help but notice that the smaller portfolio of cable-only networks is also easier to sell.
MSNBC is currently in the midst of a ratings and identity crisis. Ratings are down 38% post-election compared to pre-election 2024 averages. Star anchor Rachel Maddow reportedly took a pay cut in a new deal with the seemingly struggling network. "Morning Joe" hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski didn't help public perception of the network any when they decided to meet with President-elect Donald Trump.
Were Musk to go through with his purchase of MSNBC, it wouldn't be the only spite-induced media purchase of 2024. Satirical newspaper The Onion recently purchased Alex Jones' conspiracist media company Infowars at a bankruptcy auction. That sale came after Jones was hit with a staggering defamation judgment ordering that he pay $1.4 billion to the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook mass shooting. The Onion has said it plans to relaunch Infowars as a parody of itself.
Should Musk want to do something similar, he's certainly not hurting for funds. The SpaceX owner's net worth ballooned to nearly $350 billion this week following Trump’s reelection, a sign that his tens of millions in campaign contributions may have paid off.
