Elon Musk Vs. McDonald's: Tesla Fans Wanted Collaboration, Instead They Get New Product Launch Competing With Robotaxi Day

Restaurant giant McDonald's Corporation MCD caused high hopes for Tesla Inc TSLA fans that the company could be partnering with the electric vehicle giant for Robotaxi Day.

Instead, the rumors and internet clues appear to be just a timing coincidence, but is more coming?

What Happened: The delayed Robotaxi Day is set for Oct. 10, a date engraved in the mind of Tesla fans and investors for some time now.

When McDonald's tweeted out a picture of a delivery order that said "chat's about to pop off 10.10" that got an emoji reaction from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, fans started playing connect the dots.

Internet speculation almost immediately went to McDonald's being a potential partner of Tesla for the upcoming Robotaxi vehicle.

The rumors have subsided with McDonald's announcing yesterday that it was launching a new chicken sandwich that it teased as "not not a big mac" earlier this week on the delivery order.

McDonald's announced that the Chicken Big Mac will drop at participating U.S. restaurants on Oct. 10, calling it a limited time offer.

"With the introduction of the Chicken Big Mac, we're excited to pay homage to one of our most iconic menu items, the Big Mac, and introduce it to a whole new generation of fans," McDonald's USA Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Tariq Hassan said.

The Big Mac was introduced in 1968 and has been a staple item on the McDonald's menu.

McDonald's has partnered with well-known content creator Kai Cenat on the new sandwich launch with Cenat and friends livestreaming a taste test of the new menu item coming.

Given this could be one of the biggest menu item launches for McDonald's in some time, there is now a possibility that the restaurant chain steals some of Tesla's thunder on Oct. 10.

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Why It's Important: While any partnership between McDonalds and Tesla is likely an unfound rumor, the interaction with the company's posts on social media platform X by Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino.

"6 days until I know what I am having for lunch," Yaccarino tweeted with a chicken emoji and burger emoji.

Also helping the rumors grow was the recent follow of McDonald's Senior Marketing Director Guillaume Huin by Musk.

Huin tweeted that the new chicken sandwich announcement date was coincidental but a post might spark speculation once again.

"And no, it was not related to the robotaxi but maybe you'll be able to take the robotaxi to your nearest McDonald's drive-thru on 10.10," Huin tweeted while tagging and telling people to ask @battleangelviv, who is listed as working on social media for X and Tesla.

This isn't the first time Musk has been connected to the restaurant giant. The billionaire previously said that he would eat a Happy Meal live on television if McDonald's began accepting Dogecoin DOGE/USD as a form of payment.

Musk offered a challenge to McDonald’s in January 2022 to help push the restaurant company to accept Dogecoin as a payment option.

The tweet from Musk came as speculation grew that McDonald’s was planning to accept Dogecoin, which turned out to be untrue.

Musk confirmed again in 2023 that he was still open to the challenge if McDonald’s did their part.

MCD Price Action: McDonald's shares trade at $303.76 versus a 52-week trading range of $243.53 to $306.96. McDonald's stock is up 2% year-to-date in 2024.  

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