Unless you live under a rock, you've seen at least a hundred memes about Elon Musk — the entrepreneur behind Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter). His online presence generates a constant stream of satire, and one particularly detailed entry imagines a scenario that never happened: Musk buying Wrexham FC, the small Welsh football club that Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought for real in 2020. The joke's premise borrows a line that circulated among fans online — that Musk publicly griped about Wrexham's club fees being too low — though there's no verified record of him actually saying it; it's meme material fitting his reputation for weighing in on other companies' business decisions, not a documented quote, and likely what got one betting.us infographic designer thinking about what a Musk-owned Wrexham would look like.

What the memes are actually about

Musk's online reputation has taken real hits in the past few years, and most of the memes trace back to a specific grievance rather than generic mockery: mass layoffs after the Twitter acquisition, the platform's rocky technical run under his ownership, a paid-subscription model that proved unpopular, Tesla production incidents and SpaceX launch failures, and a $150 limited-edition "CyberBeer" that customers complained arrived in rusted packaging and tasted bad. Add his shift toward openly backing Republican politicians and his comments about trans people, and the mix explains why the jokes keep coming from multiple directions at once — not just one political lane.

The ten-point satire, decoded

The infographic's jokes only land if you know what they're referencing. Fire Everyone mirrors the real layoffs after the Twitter deal. Rebrand the Club to "X-Ham" mirrors the actual Twitter-to-X rename. Announce Billion-Dollar Sponsorships plays on Musk cross-promoting his own companies. Lure Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar and Sign the Next Generation via FIFA stats both mock a buy-the-talent instinct. Introduce a Paid Subscription is a direct jab at the X/Twitter Blue checkmark. Self-Driving Team Bus Lost references Tesla's unmet self-driving promises. Joe Rogan Spotted in a Local Pub nods to Musk's infamous podcast appearance. Points Deducted for AI Players plays on his AI enthusiasm. And The Interplanetary Super League closes the joke out with his stated ambition to colonize Mars.

This infographic was first published in 2023, with its original outbound reference to the infographic's creator kept intact. The hero image is unchanged from its first publication.

Frequently asked questions

Did Elon Musk actually buy Wrexham FC?

No, that never happened. The real 2020 buyers of the small Welsh club were Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The Musk-buys-Wrexham scenario is entirely satirical, built by an infographic designer imagining what his ownership might look like.

What actually sparked the joke about Musk and Wrexham?

A joke, not a documented quote: the meme premise is that Musk publicly griped about Wrexham's club fees being too low, but no verified record of him actually saying that exists. It fits his reputation for weighing in on other companies' business decisions online, which is likely what got the betting.us infographic designer thinking about a satirical Musk-owned Wrexham in the first place.

What is "CyberBeer" and why does it show up as a punchline?

CyberBeer was a real Tesla limited-edition product: two bottles for $150. Customers complained it arrived in rusted packaging and tasted bad, which is exactly the kind of real-world Musk misstep the satire is built to mock.

What's the "Interplanetary Super League" joke actually referencing?

Musk's stated ambition to colonize Mars. The infographic closes its ten-point satire by extending that real ambition to its most absurd football conclusion, a league played across planets.

Why does "Introduce a Paid Subscription" appear in the satire?

It's a direct jab at the paid-subscription model X (formerly Twitter) rolled out under Musk's ownership, better known as the Twitter Blue checkmark, which proved unpopular with users.

Sources

The Wrexham FC infographic referenced throughout can be found on betting.us. Wrexham FC's real 2020 sale to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and the specific Musk controversies referenced (Twitter/X layoffs and rebrand, CyberBeer, Tesla/SpaceX incidents), are matters of public record as of this piece's original 2023 publication.