A major arm of the Chinese Communist Party state media warned Elon Musk after Tesla’s CEO and Twitter founder endorsed the lab leak theory regarding COVID-19 origin.
Musk responded to a Sunday tweet about Dr. Anthony Fauci. He indicated that he believed Fauci had funded COVID-19 creation at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Global Times, a major Chinese state-run newspaper, posted on social media to ask if Musk had eaten the hand that feeds.
Musk tweeted Sunday: “He did it through a pass-through organisation (EcoHealth),” referring to Fauci’s funding for EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit organization that funneled American grant money into the WIV. He replied that he was unsure if Fauci had “funded the development COVID-19” through facilitating gain-of function research in Wuhan.
The lab leak theory of COVID-19’s origin advocates generally believe that the pandemic started because of a leakage of COVID-19 from WIV. This was where dangerous gain-of function research on bat coronaviruses took place.
CNBC’s EuniceYon reported on Tuesday that Musk had been mentioned by the Global Times on WeChat. WeChat is a popular Chinese social networking site. The paper wrote, “Elon Musk! Are you breaking the pot in China?”
Yoon explains that “breaking the pot after you have fed” is a Chinese expression similar to “biting your hand that feeds.”
China is Tesla’s second largest market. The company also has a large production facility in Shanghai. Musk has been vocal in his political opinions, but he does not have a history of criticizing the Chinese government.
