Elon Musk has joked that he wants to buy Coca-Cola and “put cocaine” back in the fizzy drink.
After he bought social media network Twitter for a whopping $44 billion (more than R700bn), the multibillionaire took to the micro-blogging app to stir up more controversy by quipping about his “next” acquisition.
The 50-year-old Tesla and SpaceX boss – who has come under fire for his plans to make Twitter a place for “free speech” – jokingly suggested he would add the illegal substance back into the recipe for the soft drink, which contained cocaine and caffeine when it was first launched in the 19th century.
Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in
Musk tweeted: "Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in."
In a statement regarding his takeover of Twitter, the world's richest man said: "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.
"I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.
"Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it."
Among those voicing their concerns about Musk's plans for Twitter is actress Jameela Jamil, who fears it will become a place for "totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny".
The 36-year-old star, who has faced the wrath of trolls on the site over the years, has quit Twitter and tweeted in response to the acquisition: "Ah he got twitter.
"I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet.
"Just really *any* excuse to show pics of Barold.
"I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny.
"Best of luck."
While fellow actress Cate Blanchett, 52, told Variety: "It's dangerous. That's all I have to say. It's very, very dangerous."
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