Elon Musk and other conservative online personalities are riffing on an idea about the X owner buying media outlet MSNBC.

Donald Trump Jr. tagged Musk in a quoted post Friday hinting at a hypothetical sale of the outlet. The post appeared to reference Comcast's recent announcement that it would spin off some of NBCUniversal's cable television networks, including MSNBC, into a new public company.

"Hey @elonmusk I have the funniest idea ever!!!" Trump Jr. said in the quoted post on X.

"How much does it cost?" Musk replied. Internet users noted how he said something similar about Twitter back in 2017 before he went on to purchase the social media company in 2022. Musk followed up with another post this weekend that joked about him buying the news outlet.

The company has not indicated that MSNBC alone will be up for sale. Instead, it is part of a bigger portfolio, which also includes CNBC, E!, the Golf Channel and others, that will be part of a new publicly traded company, structured as a tax-free spinoff. Comcast chair and CEO Brian Roberts will own the same economic and voting interests in the new company, dubbed "SpinCo," as he has in Comcast, according to an internal memo sent to NBCUniversal employees and shared with USA TODAY Monday.

X did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment and NBCUniversal declined to comment on Musk's remarks.

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X has become more conservative since Musk takeover

MSNBC is considered a liberal-leaning cable news channel, while Musk is a key ally to Trump and was appointed to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency along with Vivek Ramaswamy.

Musk later shared the X interaction with Trump Jr. saying, "the most entertaining outcome, especially if ironic, is the most likely," with a crying laughing face emoji.

Major podcasting personality Joe Rogan, who endorsed President-elect Donald Trump, also hopped in on the idea.

"If you buy MSNBC I would like Rachael Maddow’s job," Rogan replied to Musk Friday on X.

When Musk bought Twitter, he reinstated Trump who was previously banned after the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021. Pew Research shows the platform has become more popular among Republicans since Musk's takeover. In the aftermath of the election, several celebrities announced they were leaving X and the alternative social media platform Bluesky has experienced rapid growth.

Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected], and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.