Elon Musk has called MSNBC "the scum of the earth." He stated that the channel "propagandizes to children." Just days earlier, he said "MSNBC is about to collapse." And now he is posting memes about buying this channel, according to CNN.

Is Elon Musk joking?

But Musk's posts are adding to the anxiety that MSNBC employees feel about Donald Trump's re-election and the recently announced spin-off of Comcast's cable channel, which are related.

In fact, more than one billionaire has reached out to acquaintances at MSNBC to express interest in buying this cable channel.

One source said that outside interest is credible, as it shows that opposing figures like Elon Musk (who famously bought Twitter to destroy it) wouldn’t be the only potential pursuers.

But contrary to the claim that Trump's allies are posting on X, Comcast has not put up a 'for sale' sign on MSNBC.

If Comcast CEO Brian Roberts really wanted to sell this free cable news channel, he could have already done so.

Instead, he is spinning off MSNBC and a dozen other cable channels into "SpinCo," a pure cable programming company.

The hope is that spinning off the channels adds pressure but, when profitable, it will boost the stock of both Comcast and "SpinCo."

Comcast said the deal will take about a year.

At this time, could someone jump in to buy MSNBC?

It's complicated. "SpinCo" is structured as a spin-off company to be tax-exempt, and immediately divesting an asset would have tax implications that could prevent any such sale.

"Typically, we would expect a two-year waiting period before any other potential strategic actions from SpinCo to maintain the tax-free nature of the spin despite believing that there are scenarios in which industry consolidation involving SpinCo could occur sooner," wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne in a note to investors last week. (Morgan Stanley is the financial advisor to Comcast).

Moreover, the executives of "SpinCo" may conclude that selling MSNBC is not in the best interests of shareholders, as the channel's loyal audience serves as leverage in negotiations with cable distributors.

The executives involved in this spin-off say they intend to be predators, not prey - buying new channels, not selling off individual old ones.

Selling MSNBC to win the support of the incoming president is simply not the plan, as the new structure will allow for more investment in MSNBC, CNBC, and other brands.

Musk's allies continue to joke

Nevertheless, Musk's posts should not be overlooked.

This billionaire became famous for announcing his pursuit of Twitter with a tweet asking, "How much is it?".

On Friday, he also tweeted about MSNBC: "How much is it?".

He responded to Donald Trump, Jr., who posted a (false) meme saying that MSNBC was for sale, writing, "Hey @elonmusk, I have the funniest idea ever!!!"

Joe Rogan chimed in, saying: "If you buy MSNBC, I want Rachel Maddow's job." (He misspelled her name.) "I will wear the same outfit and glasses, and I will say the same lies."

Fans of the spinoff, and Musk continued to post about this idea throughout the week, at one point promoting a homophobic meme comparing Maddow to Mark Cuban.

By Sunday, Trump Jr. tweeted again: "I think I’ve started something here. The number of people wanting this to happen is incredible!!!!" Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz replied, "I 100 percent want this to happen."

The ridicule is the main point, and perhaps nothing more than that.

The 'media domination' model

While Musk and his friends exchange memes and joke with each other, there is a serious undercurrent here. It’s called "media domination."

This happened in Hungary when "close allies of far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also bought private television and radio channels to turn them into government-supporting media," CNN reported earlier this month.

"Media domination" is a subset of what the executives of Protect Democracy, Ian Bassin, call "authoritarian capture," where "the government uses its power to enforce loyalty from the private sector."

In a recent episode of "Inside the Hive" on Vanity Fair, Bassin said, "I think we are at risk of witnessing that happening across the U.S. market in every sector."

Gábor Scheiring, a former member of the Hungarian parliament, wrote in a new essay for Politico that Orbán "consolidates control of the media through concentrated propaganda, market pressure, and loyal billionaires."

In the U.S., he wrote, "liberal-minded billionaires should not stand idly by as they have in Hungary, witnessing the right-wing takeover of the media."