Did Elon Musk announce plans to buy McDonald’s?

A recent Facebook post alleged that Elon Musk is planning to purchase McDonald’s. On November 12, user Amelia Fisher5 shared a photo collage featuring the Tesla CEO, accompanied by a caption making this claim.

The report originated from The Facts USA on November 11, which stated that Musk allegedly announced: "I am officially buying McDonalds."  

The article further elaborated: "In a move no one saw coming, the billionaire entrepreneur has set his sights on the fast-food giant, adding another iconic brand to his ever-expanding portfolio."  

The Facts USA speculated that Musk's potential involvement in McDonald’s would introduce innovative food technologies, automation, and sustainability initiatives. They also suggested that his influence could lead to AI-regulated kitchen, packaging, and delivery systems.  

However, Elon Musk has made no such public statement about acquiring McDonald’s. Likewise, McDonald’s has not issued any announcements or hints regarding the claim.  

The Facebook post was flagged by Meta and marked as "False information" by fact-checking platforms PolitiFact and Newsmobile Fact Checker.  

Amelia Fisher5’s post included a photo collage featuring images of Musk holding a McDonald’s plaque, eating French fries, and wearing what appeared to be a staff uniform behind a counter.  

Upon analysis with Sighengine, the photo collage was determined to contain 99% AI-generated elements, suggesting it was likely created using GenAI, further debunking the claim that Musk is buying McDonald’s.  

In 2022, following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (now X), he humorously tweeted about buying Coca-Cola next and "putting the cocaine back in." On April 28, 2022, as the tweet went viral, Musk shared a fabricated tweet that joked: "Now I’m going to buy McDonald’s and fix all of the ice cream machines…"  

In response, Musk quipped: "Listen, I can’t do miracles ok."