--- title: "China Warns Elon Musk Not to Contradict Its COVID Messaging" description: "China's state-run media just told Elon Musk to knock it off after the billionaire tweeted about the theory that COVID-19 started in a Chinese lab." date: "2023-03-01" modified: "2023-03-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/china-elon-musk-covid-messaging" categories: - "Developments" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Health & Medicine" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "anthony fauci" - "covid19" - "elon musk" --- # China Warns Elon Musk Not to Contradict Its COVID Messaging ![China's state-run media just told Elon Musk to knock it off after the billionaire tweeted about the theory that COVID-19 started in a Chinese lab.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* China's state-run newspaper, the *Global Times*, has essentially told Tesla CEO Elon Musk to knock it off after the billionaire tweeted about the US Department of Energy's claim that the COVID pandemic started in a lab in Wuhan, China — a controversial theory that has proven divisive among researchers and government officials. The stakes are quite real for the billionaire. Wading into the debate and supporting the idea that COVID started in a Chinese lab could threaten a key relationship for Tesla, a company that has [made major strides]() in building and selling vehicles in the country. Musk recently tweeted in response to a [*CNN* report]() about the [Energy Department's assessment]() that it had determined — albeit with "low confidence" — that the COVID pandemic likely originated in a Chinese laboratory, an assertion that has clearly enraged Chinese officials, as [*CNBC* reports](). Musk [accused]() Anthony Fauci, who served as president Joe Biden's chief medical advisor during the COVID pandemic, of using a "pass-through organization" to fund research that eventually caused the virus to leak from a lab, an unfounded conspiracy theory, furthered by Republican senator Rand Paul, that was [debunked back in 2021](). Now, in a report [spotted by *CNBC*'s Eunice Yoon](), the *Global Times* warned Musk that he could be "breaking the pot of China," an expression that roughly translates to the English idiom "to bite the hand that feeds you," according to Yoon. The lab leak theory Musk tweeted about used an argument that "is repeatedly used by the US right-wing and anti-China media hostile to China to frame China," the *Global Times* argued, as translated by Yoon. Over the weekend, the *Wall Street Journal* [first reported]() on a classified intelligence report that circulated among lawmakers, revealing the Energy Department's conclusion that the COVID pandemic most likely started in a Wuhan lab. That means both the Energy Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation now support the lab leak theory. According to the *WSJ*, however, four other agencies, as well as a national intelligence panel, do not support the theory and argue that the virus was mostly a result of natural transmission. It's a thorny issue that has been causing rifts between both sides of the political aisle in the US since the very beginning of the pandemic. But experts agree, we'll likely [never get a firm answer]() on whether COVID started in a lab or not — a debate that will likely only continue to erode already strained international relations as time goes on. Now, whether it'll threaten Tesla's tenuous foothold in China adds to the drama. After all, Musk hates to be told not to do something. **READ MORE:** [China’s CCP warns Elon Musk against sharing Wuhan lab leak report]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on lab leak theories:** *[The Lab Leak Theory Is a Tragic Hall of Mirrors That'll Probably Never Have a Satisfying Answer]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()