Elon Musk Expressed Skepticism About COVID-19 Tests After Getting Conflicting Results

The second edgiest Billionaire who ever did edge, Elon Musk (Howard Hughes retains the #1 spot), might have come down with COVID-19, the hippest diagnosis of the year. But Elon’s not just gonna Tweet about it like some common celebrity and let this golden opportunity slip away without making a quasi-political, pseudo-scientific point about it! According to The Verve, after getting tested four times with conflicting results, Elon’s tin foil hat got to tingling and he Tweeted “something extremely bogus is going on.” Why Elon chose to get tested at a Circle K in San Dimas, we’ll never know.

According to The Verve:

Elon Musk said Thursday night on Twitter that he has received mixed results after being tested for COVID-19 and is currently experiencing symptoms of a common cold. Musk says he was tested four times using a rapid antigen test: two tests came back positive and two came back negative. He’s also awaiting the results from two PCR tests but the results won’t be known for 24 hours.

Antigen tests work by detecting a small protein on the surface of the coronavirus, whereas the more accurate PCR tests look for the virus itself. Antigen tests can be conducted quickly as they don’t require a lab, and are often administered in hotspots like college campuses or elderly care facilities. “Positive results from antigen tests are highly accurate, but there is a higher chance of false negatives,” the FDA tells us, (That’s why PCR tests are ordered for confirmation.) One such antigen test from Quidel can detect the coronavirus 85 percent of the time. Musk says his antigen test came from BD.

Interesting! So if I’m reading these science fact words correctly, PCR stands for Probably Covid, Right?, right? Don’t tell me this means that all those Kardashian/Jenner parties might not have been 100% COVID safe!!! I’m an admittedly dumb bitch, but you’d think a certified genius like Elon would understand. But no, here he is working on a Seinfeld inspired comedy bit called “what’s the deal with these rapid COVID tests?!”

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

Would be great to hear from people who know a lot about the PCR testing industry. What’s the approximate false positive rate, all things considered, for cov2 PCR tests?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2020

You won’t be surprised to learn that this is not Elon’s first foray into the wild world of COVID conspiracy theories.

Musk has been spreading doubt, confusion, and sometimes outright misinformation about the coronavirus. He’s accused doctors of inflating case numbers for financial reasons, promoted a widely discredited paper on the benefits of chloroquine, called shelter-in-place orders “fascist,” and dismissed panic associated with the pandemic as “dumb.” In March he predicted “close to zero new cases” by the end of April.

Back in May, he threatened to pick up all his little toy cars and leave California for good when the county of Alameda implemented a lockdown that required him to temporarily shut down his Tesla factory so his employees would, you know, not get sick and die. Elon was like FUCK THAT. So we saw what happened when COVID threatened his bag, now we’re finding out what happens when COVID threatens his brag. Elon’s SpaceX was scheduled to launch its “first official crewed mission for NASA” on Saturday, now with his Probably Covid, Right? diagnosis, Elon might be grounded.

“When somebody tests positive for COVID, here at the Kennedy Space Center and across NASA it is our policy for that person to quarantine and self isolate. So we anticipate that will be taking place.” Bridenstine said at a press event today when asked about Musk’s tweets. “But it’s very early right now to know if any changes are necessary at this point.” Bridenstine added. “We just don’t know.”

Well, no wonder he’s so pressed! Maybe he should try going into the phone booth across from the Circle K and see if he can get a ride that way.

Pic: Wenn.com