Elon Musk is one of the most influential figures in Silicon Valley and isn’t usually shy about sharing his opinions with the world.
The billionaire boss of Tesla and SpaceX previously responded to the current coronavirus pandemic on Twitter in a less-than-serious manner. He shared a meme which mocked those panic-buying toilet paper and then, on March 6, tweeted ‘the coronavirus panic is dumb.’
And despite many US cities (such as San Francisco) imposing restrictions on workers and social gatherings, the Tesla factory in Freemont, California is staying open to continue building electric cars. According to reports, Tesla employees are expected to show up for work despite the ongoing pandemic.
Now, in a leaked memo to Tesla employees, Elon Musk’s views on the coronavirus have become clear. The memo was obtained by Electrek and reveals that no Tesla employee has yet tested positive for the virus.
However, he explains that they are not being forced to come to work if they feel ill.
‘First, I’d like to be super clear that if you feel the slightest bit ill or even uncomfortable, please don’t feel obligated to come to work. I will personally be at work, but that is just me. Totally OK if you want to stay home for any reason,’ Musk wrote.
He went on to explain that, in his opinion, the panic surrounding the pandemic was actually worse than the virus itself.
‘My frank opinion remains that the harm from the coronavirus panic far exceeds that of the virus itself. If there is a massive redirection of medical resources out of proportion to the danger, it will result in less available care to those with critical medical needs, which does not serve the greater good,’ the billionaire wrote.
‘My best guess, for what it is worth, based on the latest Center for Disease Control data, is that confirmed COVID-19 (this specific form of the common cold) cases will not exceed 0.1% of the US population. Moreover, I do not think, when we look back on 2020, that the causes of death or serious injury will have changed much from 2017.’
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