Did basketball star Caitlin Clark reject a "$15 Million Offer" from Elon Musk? No, that's not true: Musk did not make the public statement the story said he did. It also contained several phrases from almost identical false stories about Dawn Staley and Patrick Mahomes that went viral earlier this month.
Viral claims on social media were often accompanied by links to an article (archived here) published on March 31, 2025 with a headline that read: 'BREAKING: Caitlin Clark STUNS the Globe, REJECTS Elon Musk's $15 Million Offer - "Keep It. Use It to Help Someone Who Actually Needs It"'. It opened:
Basketball superstar Caitlin Clark has delivered a thunderous message heard around the world -- turning down a jaw-dropping $15 million offer from none other than Elon Musk.
The tech titan, known for his fortune, flair, and admiration of bold figures, had publicly praised Clark's brilliance on and off the court. But what followed was a move that has left both the sports and business worlds reeling.
"Keep it," Clark declared. "Spend it on something that actually helps people."
With those nine words, the Iowa legend didn't just reject a fortune -- she challenged a billionaire to do better. Her defiance was elegant, fearless, and deeply human.
The story claimed Musk tweeted "Caitlin Clark is one of the most inspiring athletes of our time. I stand with you, Coach Clark." and later deleted that message. But Google has not indexed any such tweet (archived here). Clark is also not commonly known as "Coach Clark" since she is a player with the Indiana Fever team, not the coach.
Earlier this month similar false stories about sports figures rejecting donations from Elon Musk went viral, using almost identical phrasing. For example, in a fake story about Patrick Mahomes debunked by Lead Stories just a week ago Elon Musk allegedly tweeted "I stand with you, Patrick" and the reaction was an identical "Spend it on something that actually helps people." Which was also the exact same reaction Dawn Staley allegedly gave in another story debunked by Lead Stories only days earlier.
A search of Google News for stories containing both "Caitlin Clark" and "Elon Musk" only brought up articles and fact checks (archived here) about a similar false story where Musk only offered $10 million.
