Elon Musk Says Panic About Coronavirus, Which Has Killed Over 3,400, Is “Dumb”

It probably wouldn’t be a global news item if the world’s greatest genius-cum subsidy addict-cum securities fraudster didn’t weigh in with his two cents about it on Twitter. Such was the case with Elon Musk and the ongoing coronavirus saga Friday. Musk, perhaps annoyed that the fatal virus was stealing his spotlight, or perhaps finally coming to terms with the harsh reality that a recession could wind up finally being the straw that breaks his camel’s back, just had to opine about coronavirus on Friday – and, of course, it had to stand at odds with what everything the global health community has said.

As doctors globally speak out about how healthcare systems are wildly unprepared for the coming pandemic – with Italian doctors urging the rest of the world to hunker down and the U.S. healthcare system reportedly preparing for millions of cases, the world’s favorite non-doctor, non-physicist, non-engineer but-somehow-still-a-genius thought as hard as he could and forced out one of his biggest brain farts yet on Twitter on Friday, simply saying “The coronavirus panic is dumb”.

The coronavirus panic is dumb

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2020

Alas, Musk’s tweeterpretation of events stands at odds with people who actually know what they’re talking about, despite garnering over a million likes in a little over 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus has reached pandemic levels, has infected over 100 people in Musk’s home state of California, has infected nearly 100,000 people globally and has killed more than 3,400 people. As major Silicon Valley players like Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon all have confirmed at least one employee has tested positive, Musk’s interpretation of the events simply stands at odds with reality. Which, we guess, is what we should be used to with Musk at this point anyway.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus isn’t “dumb” enough for Tesla to not use it as a crutch when their inevitably poor numbers start rolling in during subsequent quarters. “Tesla has acknowledged that the coronavirus outbreak may have a material adverse impact on its business,” CNBC said Friday.

So, which is it, Elon – “dumb” or “material”?

Musk, of course, has no background in virology or medicine. But one person who does, Richard Hatchett, the doctor leading efforts to find a vaccine for coronavirus, said on Friday: “This is the most frightening disease I’ve ever encountered in my career.”

In response to the “dumb” tweet, social media did its job and immediately put Musk on blast for his comments:

Poll: Elon took to Twitter calling Coronavirus panic “stupid” immediately after being shown an internal financial forecast.

— Keubiko (@Keubiko) March 7, 2020

You’re not an expert here. You should NOT be weighing in pic.twitter.com/oHDD49uw5w

— Tesla FSD Tunnel (@TeslaTunnel) March 6, 2020

Seattle here. This is irresponsible.
What a jerk. People have died.
Do you know what is like to struggle to breathe? I do. It is horrifying.

— Lisa #BleedingHeartLiberal (@Itsagoodlife48G) March 6, 2020

I rededicate myself to not buying one of your vehicles.

— Seth Masket (@smotus) March 6, 2020

This statement is dumb. Unreal, never expected something like this from Elon.

— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) March 6, 2020

Hey Siri, show me the coronavirus panic as a car. pic.twitter.com/2wW3PLS533

— Tokyo Sexwhale (@tokyo_sexwhale) March 7, 2020

“The coronavirus panic is dumb.”

– Elon Musk, March 6, 2020 pic.twitter.com/xUUkzJK5Fb

— Quoth the Raven (@QTRResearch) March 7, 2020