Elon Musk tweeted today that he would like to buy Coca-Cola to “put the cocaine back in” to the popular drink.

Mr Musk’s post came only days after the billionaire agreed to buy social media giant Twitter in a massive £35 billion deal.

Despite the tweet likely being a joke, it is based in some historical truth.

Coca-Cola was first invented in 1885 by John Pemberton, a pharmacist, who marketed the drink as a “brain tonic and intellectual beverage” and a “patent medicine”.

Like a number of other medicines at the time, it is believed that Coca-Cola contained a small amount of cocaine.

It was far from uncommon for medicines towards the end of the 19th century to contain ingredients like cocaine or opium, and they didn’t know the effects these drugs had.

Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2022