FACT CHECK: No, Elon Musk Did Not Acquire Boeing
A post shared on Facebook claims Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired Boeing.
Verdict: False
There is no evidence to suggest Musk has acquired Boeing.
Fact Check:
Several universities in the U.K. are scaling back use of the social platform X, owned by Elon Musk, with some exiting the platform completely, according to Reuters. London Business School has not posted to the platform since September and Merton College in Oxford has deleted its X account entirely, the outlet reported.
A Facebook post claims Musk has acquired Boeing. It appears to show various images of Musk, two of which are in front of plane engines.
The caption reads, “1 MIN AGO: Elon Musk HAS JUST ACQUIRED Boeing, Eliminating All Competition.”
This post is inaccurate. There are no credible news reports to corroborate the claim. (RELATED: Did Elon Musk Post That Hiring Immigrants Is Easier Than Hiring Americans?)
The claim appears to stem from a site called “Media News 48.” This site contains a disclaimer that says it “makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy, reliability or currency of any information, content, service or merchandise provided through or accessible via our Service.” The article claims Musk posted, “I am officially buying Boeing. Time to revolutionize aerospace,” but this cannot be found on his X account.
Check Your Fact uploaded the photos seen in the post into Hive Moderation, an AI image detector. Each image showed a high likelihood of being AI-generated; the first one showed 92.1%, the second one showed 92.9% and the third one showed 95.6%.
Check Your Fact reached out to a Boeing spokesperson for comment.
This is not the first time misinformation about Musk has circulated online. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim Musk said he is running for governor of California.