Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he may have COVID-19
Musk questioned the results of rapid coronavirus tests and described mild symptoms associated with the virus.
Musk has repeatedly challenged the scientific consensus and health advice on the coronavirus.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk finds himself in the same situation millions of people around the world have this year: The head of the electric carmaker may have COVID-19, the illness that presents itself after coming into contact with the novel coronavirus.
Musk revealed on Twitter medical personnel tested him four times with rapid antigen tests, which are far less accurate than polymerase chain reaction tests, aka the big ol' cotton swab that goes up your nostril. The CEO said he first tested positive, then negative twice, and then positive once more with the 15-minute rapid test. According to a series of tweets he's now waiting on final results from the polymerase chain reaction test, which he said will come back in 24 hours.
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2020
The Tesla boss also revealed he's experienced a mild fever and symptoms similar to the common cold in the last few days, but as of this morning, he has "no symptoms." He mentioned he also took NyQuil. Overall, his experience has been "nothing unusual" so far. For millions of others, COVID-19 is far from nothing unusual -- and we still don't have clear answers as to why the virus affects individuals differently.
Musk has challenged official health advice on the virus, questioned its infectiousness and the extent of mortality rates. He resisted efforts to close Tesla's US production facility in Fremont, California, though eventually complied before a round of legal challenges and threats surfaced to restart production early. Despite the coronavirus-related challenges, Tesla has posted a profit every single quarter this year.
Musk also predicted back in March that the US would see its case numbers dwindle down to near zero in April. In the last 10 days, the US has registered more than 100,000 new cases every 24 hours. On Thursday, 1,171 people died of the disease.
