IN SHORT: Posts claiming Elon Musk has launched a new AI-powered trading platform in South Africa, with guaranteed returns, are false. The posts link to suspicious websites.
A May 2023 Facebook post circulating in South Africa announces the launch of a "new AI-Powered Trading Platform" by Elon Musk. It has received over 800 comments.
AI refers to artificial intelligence, a field which combines computer science and datasets to enable problem-solving.
The post lists various benefits of the new trading platform and even quotes Musk as saying: “Our trading platform is backed by cutting-edge AI technology and algorithms, ensuring a guaranteed doubling of your investment every 3 days."
The claim was made elsewhere on Facebook here, here and here.
Musk is an entrepreneur known for co-founding various companies in the electric car and space exploration industries. He is also the executive chair and chief technology officer of the social media company Twitter.
But is a new AI-powered trading platform yet another one of Musk’s innovations? We checked.
Signs of a scam
Some of the posts making the announcement of the new platform link to suspicious websites.
This post, for example, links to the website bikeshopthe.com. But clicking on the link brings up a privacy error notice on our browser.
Another post links to a website called elonmusktrading.com. The website has a Download App page but there is no way to download any trading platform app from there. “Download links will be provided soon,” the page says.
This raises suspicions about the credibility of both websites.
Musk posts regularly on his verified Twitter account and Africa Check has previously found that he does not have a Facebook account.
A quick scroll of his Twitter feed shows that he made no announcement of a new trading platform in May 2023. If he had, it would have been covered widely in the media. But a Google search does not bring up any credible news reports.
There is no evidence that Musk has launched or is affiliated to an AI-powered trading platform.
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