Elon Musk Claims Covid-19 Is Good Business For Scientists

The billionaire entrepreneur is an opponent of restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of Covid-19.

The winter season is generally conducive to the circulation of many viruses. 

This winter is no exception and could even be even worse than usual, according to infectious-disease specialists. It's the first winter since economies reopened and covid-19 restrictions, like masking, intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus were lifted.

Many alerts have already been issued by the medical profession and health authorities, who recommend wearing masks in crowded situations, like public transport. But that advice was and again is being met with mockery and resistance from a good part of the population.

One of the main reasons is covid fatigue, as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the immunologist who is the face of the U.S. response to the pandemic, recently acknowledged.

"We're doing much, much lower from a percentage point that we shouldn't be doing you know, in some respects, that may be understandable, because people want to be done with covid," Fauci told Fox 5 Television's "Good Day, New York" on Dec. 9.

The nation’s top infectious-disease expert, who this month plans to step down from government positions including as President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, added: "We've all been exhausted over the last three years. But there still is a lot to do to protect yourself and your family and, ultimately, your community."

Musk: Scientists Using Covid for Funding

No surprise, then, that the social networks are ablaze with comments from opponents of possible new anti-covid measures. And it's in this context that Elon Musk, the billionaire serial entrepreneur, has let go harsh criticism of experts who work on infectious diseases.

Musk says that the coronavirus -- specifically Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19 -- has become a business for scientists looking for funds to finance their research. 

Coronavirus, he says, has become the magic word to win funding in the science world. As a result, the billionaire questions the judgment of scientists and their good faith.

"They just kept calling different viruses C19, because that got more funding than if not," Musk said on Dec. 14 in a thread on Twitter. "That’s why I called it the 'Virus of Theseus': how many RNA changes are required before it’s *not* C19!?"

In the thread, Billy Markus, one of the co-creators of the meme coin dogecoin, with whom Musk regularly converses on the platform, explained that he had recently been sick with covid-19. 

Markus said: "Interesting how i still refer to 2020-2021 as 'during covid' like it’s in the past, when i literally have covid right now