Claims that Major League Baseball's (MLB) Los Angeles Dodgers rejected a proposal from Tesla co-founder Elon Musk to feature an ad for his company's electric vehicles at Dodger Stadium circulated online in May 2025.
Users shared the rumor widely on social media platforms like Facebook (archived), Threads (archived), Instagram (archived) and X (archived), with some celebrating the perceived victory against the outspoken tech mogul.
However, the claim was false.
The Facebook account that originally posted (archived) the rumor, Chavez Ravine Chronicles, features a mix of authentic game highlights, AI-generated images and false headlines masquerading as fact. The Dodgers claim featured on the Chavez Ravine Chronicles Facebook page links to an article on the suspicious website nesteditor.net, which then redirects to the URL dailyus.cafex.biz/.
The article claimed the Dodgers "rejected a major advertising proposal from Elon Musk's Tesla, declining to display Tesla branding at Dodger Stadium despite a multi-million-dollar pitch."
The article also claimed the Dodgers organization said, "'While we respect the innovation Tesla has brought to the world of technology and transportation, the Dodgers remain committed to partnerships that align with our core values — including sustainability, community, and responsible leadership.'"
There is no evidence that this claim is true nor that this statement truly came from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Snopes reached out to the Dodgers for comment and will update this article if a response is received.
The rumor bears a striking resemblance to a previously debunked claim citing similar circumstances for the National Football League's (NFL) Green Bay Packers that appeared to be generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Running the text of the Dodgers article through the AI detection platform Copyleaks revealed it was likely AI-generated, casting doubt on the rumor's authenticity.
(Copyleaks)
Further, a search for this claim on Google (archived) and DuckDuckGo (archived) revealed no results from credible news outlets.
Finally, the Facebook account's page transparency tab reveals the profile is managed primarily from Vietnam.
A common tactic for such pages is to grow a social media following by posting fake but appealing content and linking to generic websites that host ads to generate revenue. The Dodgers are not the only professional baseball team used as the subject for this tactic. Other MLB teams featured in similar false headlines have included the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.
Accounts purporting to be fans of teams across a variety of professional sports leagues like the NFL and NHL have also shared similar claims about Tesla ads being rejected at their respective stadiums, posted around the same time with wording that is nearly identical and links to the same website leading to a variation on the same article featured in the Dodgers claim.