China warns Elon Musk after his COVID-19 lab leak comments

Mar 01, 2023

Mahmoud Bennett Social Media Reporter/Producer

By Mahmoud Bennett (Social Media Reporter/Producer)

Elon Musk’s recent comments on Twitter about the origin of COVID-19 have drawn a warning from the Chinese government, which implied that the Tesla CEO’s remarks could damage the company’s relationship with the country. This warning comes just hours after the U.S. Energy Department assessed with “low confidence” that the virus likely originated in a Chinese lab.

In response to one user’s allegation that Dr. Anthony Fauci funded gain-of-function research at a Wuhan lab, Musk tweeted his agreement, adding in a separate tweet that “so few know this.”

He did it via a pass-through organization (EcoHealth)

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2023

However, the Chinese government has rejected the COVID-19 lab leak assessment as having “no credibility whatsoever.”

China is Tesla’s second-largest market after the U.S., and the majority of Musk’s net worth comes from his shares in the electric car brand. CNBC reports that a recent Chinese state-media headline questioning if Musk is “smashing China’s pot” is akin the idiom “to bite the hand that feeds you.”

Meanwhile, the FBI has become the latest federal agency to acknowledge the possibility of a lab accident resulting in the COVID pandemic. As a result, online conspiracy theories have surged, with people using the reports to dismiss expert advice on masks and vaccines, according to The Associated Press.

While there is no consensus within the broader U.S. intelligence community on the exact origins of COVID-19, the U.S. has called on China to be more transparent about the information it has.

Tags: Anthony Fauci, China, COVID origins, COVID-19, Elon Musk, FBI, Tesla, U.S. Energy Department

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

JUST HOURS AFTER THE US ENERGY DEPARTMENT PUT OUT AN ASSESSMENT THAT COVID-19 LIKELY ORIGINATED IN A CHINESE LAB – NONE OTHER THAN ELON MUSK TOOK TO TWITTER TO CHIME IN *AND CHINA HAS A WARNING FOR HIM*

IN A RESPONSE TO ONE USER ALLEGING DR. FAUCI FUNDED GAIN-OF-FUNCTION RESEARCH AT A WUHAN LAB – MUSK RESPONDED IN AGREEMENT EVEN WRITING IN A SEPARATE TWEET TO THE CLAIM QUOTE “SO FEW KNOW THIS”

AND THAT IS NOT LANDING WELL WITH THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT – WHICH SEEMED TO IMPLY MUSK’S COMMENTS COULD HURT TESLA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COUNTRY – CNBC REPORTS *THIS* CHINESE MEDIA HEADLINE IS THE EQUIVALENT TO CHINA ASKING MUSK IF HE’S BITING THE VERY HAND THAT FEEDS HIM

FOR CONTEXT CHINA IS THE WORLD’S SECOND LARGEST MARKET FOR TESLA AND THE MAJORITY OF MUSK’S NET WORTH COMES FROM HIS SHARES IN THE ELECTRIC CAR BRAND

MEANWHILE AS CHINA REJECTS THE COVID-19 LAB LEAK ASSESSMENT AS HAVING QUOTE NO CREDIBILITY WHATSOEVER – IT IS GAINING TRACTION WITH THE FBI BECOMING THE LATEST FEDERAL AGENCY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC LIKELY RESULTED FROM A LAB ACCIDENT

SINCE THEN ONLINE CONSPIRACY THEORIES HAVE SOARED ACCORDING TO THE AP WHICH SAYS PEOPLE ARE SEIZING ON THESE REPORTS AND USING IT TO DISMISS EXPERT ADVICE ON MASKS AND VACCINES

IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THERE IS NO CONSENSUS WITHIN THE BROADER US INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY OF THE EXACT ORIGINS OF COVID-19 BUT THE US IS CALLING ON CHINA TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT ON THE INFO IT HAS

THAT’S YOUR QUICK BREAKDOWN WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS – UNBIASED STRAIGHT FACTS