Claim Musk bought Boeing is fabricated, supporting photos are AI | Fact check
The claim: Elon Musk bought Boeing
A Dec. 19 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes a picture of Elon Musk raising his arms in front of an airplane with a Boeing logo and another image of Musk holding a signed document with a Boeing logo on it.
“Shocking Merger – Elon Musk Acquires Boeing, Takes Over the Sky!” reads the caption.
The post was shared more than 300 times in 10 days.
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Our rating: False
No such deal has happened. There have been no announcements, credible news reports or regulatory filings indicating a sale was underway, much less completed. Experts also told Paste BN the images were generated with AI.
No evidence Musk made offer for Boeing
Boeing, whose rocket business competes with Musk’s company SpaceX, tapped Robert K. "Kelly" Ortberg as its CEO earlier this summer. Musk applauded the change in a Dec. 25 post on X, saying former CEO Dave Calhoun “had no idea how airplanes or rockets worked.”
Musk’s comment on Boeing's leadership is not an indication he is going to be taking charge of the company, however. Paste BN found no credible reports of Musk bidding to buy Boeing, much less that he had a deal to acquire it. There were no social media posts announcing a deal, nor were there any news releases from Boeing.
The sale of a publicly traded company such as Boeing would also require certain documents to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining the proposed terms of a deal. No such filings had happened when the claim was made or in the week after.
The account making the claim on Facebook shared a link in its comments section to an article that reiterated the claim but did not provide evidence to support it. Paste BN reached out to that site for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Fact check: No, Elon Musk didn't post 'cool' image of himself behind oval office desk
The images on the post are clearly digitally created, two experts told Paste BN. Michelle Johnson, journalism professor emerita at Boston University, said distortions in the faces of Musk and others behind him are telltale signs that generative AI was used.
Walter Scheirer, an engineering professor at Notre Dame, noted that beyond the distorted faces, hands are improperly formed, and text on the document Musk is shown holding and text on the airplane are gibberish.
“Both panels in the image are very poorly rendered, with obvious artifacts that are characteristic of generative AI,” he said in an email.
Paste BN has previously debunked claims that Musk had agreed to buy MSNBC, CNN, Meta and Snapchat.
Paste BN reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Snopes and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources
- Michelle Johnson, Dec. 28, Email exchange with Paste BN
- Walter Scheirer, Dec. 27, Email exchange with Paste BN
- SEC, accessed Dec. 30, Tender Offer FAQs
- SEC, accessed Dec. 30, Search for Boeing tender filings
- Boeing, accessed Dec. 30, Financial News Releases
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