After acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk quipped about purchasing Coca-Cola. His tweet about ‘putting the cocaine back in’ has fuelled conspiracy theories
The drink Coca-Cola was originated in 1886 by an Atlanta pharmacist, John S Pemberton, at his Pemberton Chemical Company. AFP
First Twitter and now Coca-Cola?
On Thursday, Elon Musk, the man of the moment, who has grabbed headlines the world over for his successful bid of $44 billion to buy Twitter, quipped about his potential takeover of beverage giant Coca-Cola.
While it’s unknown if he was serious about the purchase of the beverage company, it did hog the headlines and got people talking about the drink’s ingredients and if it, indeed, ever have any cocaine in it.
While people buzz about, we take a look at the beverage’s history and what goes into making Coca-Cola.
The ‘Coke’ in Coca-Cola
The American beverage giant was founded in 1892 and is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of Coca Cola, the carbonated beverage, which is a cultural institution in the US and known and drunk the world over.
The drink Coca-Cola was originated in 1886 by an Atlanta pharmacist, John S Pemberton, at his Pemberton Chemical Company.
History has it that Pemberton originally touted his drink as a tonic for most common ailments and a ‘brain tonic and intellectual beverage’.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that at the time, Pemberton’s recipe included a cocaine extract obtained from coca leaves.
The formula also contained kola nut (which contains caffeine, another stimulant). The name Coca-Cola (coca-kola) was thus inspired by these two main elements.
Interestingly, at the time of Coca-Cola’s genesis, cocaine was legal in the United States and was used as a common ingredient in medicines.
A 1988 New York Times article on The Coca-Cola Company also reported how cocaine was initially included in the drink but eliminated it by the 1900s.
The removal of the drug from the drink happened first in 1903 when the tide of public opinion had turned against the widely used narcotic. The company’s then-manager, Asa Griggs Candler, removed nearly all cocaine from the company’s beverages.
But the drink wouldn’t become completely cocaine-free until 1929, when scientists perfected the process of removing all psychoactive elements from coca-leaf extract.
It is important to note here that Coca-Cola’s modern-day recipe is a highly-prized secret and rumour has it that only two Coke executives are aware of the ingredients that go into making the fizzy brown, sugary drink.
The recipe is so guarded that there are reports that the two executives can’t even travel on the same plane for fear the secret goes down with them.
The company has always gone to great lengths to protect its recipe, so much so that when faced with having to reveal the specific ingredients after India insisted it do so back in 1977, Coca-Cola simply left the country.
Can Musk actually buy Coca Cola?
While Elon Musk, the eccentric billionaire, said that he wanted to buy Coca-Cola, it won’t be as easy as his Twitter purchase.
The market cap of Coca-Cola is around $284 billion — much more than the $44 billion he spent on the social networking giant.
Moreover, Coca-Cola is not up for sale and Warren Buffet, the sixth richest person in the world is the largest shareowner of the company. Buffett previously served on Coke’s board of directors for 17 years and has stated he will never sell a share of stock of the company.
Netizens also jumped on to his claim of buying the beverage, with some saying he was ‘too poor’ to do so.
While it is unknown if Elon Musk is actually buying the company, we are sitting back and enjoying the fun.
With inputs from agencies
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