Topline
Billionaire Elon Musk sparked anger Friday by arguing – without naming evidence – that there is “some debate” about the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, the latest in a series of questionable comments and false prognostications by the smoky car mogul since the onset of coronavirus pandemic.
SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk will sit on the Axel Springer 2020 Award red carpet on December. … [+]
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Timeline
As Covid-19 cases worldwide exceeded 100,000 and deaths exceeded 3,000, Musk tweet, “The coronavirus panic is dumb.”
The United States reported just under 2,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day, except Musk predict the country went to “zero new cases” by the end of April (before the Musk date, daily case numbers had risen to 20,000).
Musk he asked Children are “highly immune” to the coronavirus, despite research that children can become infected with the virus and become ill.
Local rules in Alameda County, Calif., Forced Tesla to close their Musk collection line. vow to sue the county (Tesla filed a federal lawsuit that day, but the company voluntarily dropped the suit less than two weeks later).
Musk said Tesla’s collection line in the Bay Area would reopen immediately, violating local public health regulations and surprising California Gov. Gavin Newsom: “If anyone is arrested, I want to be the only one,” Musk tweeted.
Musk said to the New York TimesKara Swisher will not take the Covid-19 vaccine once it is available, arguing that he and his children are not at risk, and said the virus has a low mortality rate (which killed more than 2.6 million people worldwide).
Musk seemed to be questioning whether it is safe to get a second look at the coronavirus vaccine, naming “Some bad ideas.”
Musk and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
Lead critic
“Truly, Elon, the 2nd job is * amazingly * safe,” said Dr Eric Topol, a professor at Scripps Research, tweet Friday. Although some patients have reported short-term side effects such as obesity after receiving a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, more severe reactions are rare. In the first month of U.S. vaccinations, about 4.5 out of every million patients reported anaphylaxis, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Key background
Musk, co Forbes regularly ranks among the richest people in the world, and members of his family may have caught the coronavirus itself. In November, he announced on Twitter he was suffering from cold-like symptoms and had “most likely” a moderate case of Covid-19, one day later claiming he had taken many tests and obtained different results. Two months later, her boyfriend, musician Grimes, said she finally got “Covid” and was “enjoying” her cold treatment.
Amazing info
After Tesla reopened its California factory, hundreds of plant workers tested positive for the coronavirus, according to its document released Friday with publicity group PlainSight. Tesla is not alone: Other U.S. carmakers opened their collection lines in May and reported virus infections shortly thereafter.
Tangent
In March last year, Musk promised to donate thousands of airplanes to hospitals that were in charge, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is called a “hero.” But after Tesla’s donations arrived, some hospitals told Bloomberg and CNN that they had acquired breathing apparatus that is commonly used for sleep apnea, not ventilators. Hospital administrators said these devices are still useful.
Further reading
Elon Musk – Worth Net Real Time (Forbes)
Hundreds of covid cases reported at Tesla plant after Musk’s challenging reopening, county data shows (Washington Post)