Elon Musk, who previously called panic surrounding Covid-19 "dumb" and said he will not take a coronavirus vaccine, raised questions over rapid antigen tests. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO told his Twitter followers that "something extremely bogus" was going on because two of his Covid-19 tests came positive and two others came negative.
"Something extremely bogus is going on. Was tested for covid four times today. Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse. Rapid antigen test from BD," Musk tweeted early Friday, adding that he had symptoms of typical cold nothing "unusual."
When another user speculated whether is this why there has been "such a major spike" in Covid-19 cases in the U.S., Musk responded that if it was happening to him "it's happening to others." Another user said that revenues from tests were being "not bogus & very consistent," and the 49-year-old replied: "Exactly."
Healthcare experts have expressed doubts over the accuracy over rapid antigen tests such as polymerase chain reaction, or PCR tests, which Musk said he took. Thus, there is nothing "extremely bogus" about separate antigen tests showing conflicting results as claimed by him. The White House also depended on the accuracy of the tests leading to multiple outbreaks in the executive branch.
With his latest speculation surrounding Covid-19, Musk's tweet appeared to fan conspiracy theories about the pandemic. In September, the billionaire said neither he nor his family would get vaccinated against Covid-19 should a vaccine arrive in the market. "I am not at risk, neither are my kids," Musk said during an appearance on "Sway" podcast by the New York Times.
Musk also said that lockdowns were a mistake and only those at risk of contracting the disease should be put under quarantine "until the storm passes." When the podcast host reminded him that people could potentially die in the process, then he said "Everybody dies."
