Elon Musk Blasts ‘Knucklehead’ Bill Gates, Says He'll Refuse COVID-19 Vaccine
'I’m not at risk, neither are my kids'
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Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk took aim at Microsoft founder Bill Gates, stating that neither he nor his family would take a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available.
Musk blasted Gates during an appearance on the New York Times opinion podcast “Sway.”
“I’m not at risk, neither are my kids,” Musk told host Kara Swisher.
The Tesla CEO also criticized the nationwide lockdown as a “no-win situation."
Musk said the lockdown had “diminished my faith in humanity."
He has also described the global quarantines “unethical” and “de facto house arrest,” RT reports.
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Musk offered a more targeted lockdown where “anyone who is at risk” be “quarantined until the storm passes.”
But Swisher criticized his suggestion arguing it could result in more deaths.
“Everybody dies,” quipped Musk.
Musk also said SpaceX “didn’t skip a day” throughout the entire pandemic, highlighting the supposed ridiculousness of the quarantines.
“We had national security clearance because we were doing national security work,” he said.
“We sent astronauts to the Space Station and back.”
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Musk later addressed Bill Gates' criticisms of his skepticism toward the coronavirus.
In March, the SpaceX founder spoke out against the supposed severity of the pandemic in the United States, even as cases have increased across the nation.
In July, Gates blasted Musk for making "outrageous" public statements about COVID-19.
The Microsoft-founder spoke at length with CNBC about online misinformation regarding the coronavirus and himself.
When the conversation pivoted to Musk’s comments on the virus, Gates suggested that the SpaceX and Tesla CEO is unqualified to speak about the pandemic.
"Elon’s positioning is to maintain a high level of outrageous comments,” Gates told CNBC.
“Gates said something about me not knowing what I was doing,” Musk told Swisher.
“It’s like, ‘Hey, knucklehead, we actually make the vaccine machines for CureVac, that company you’re invested in.'”
In June, Gates has warned that the "final hurdle" for a new COVID-19 vaccine will be ensuring that the public takes it.
“You’ll have a choice of whether you take the vaccine or not,” Gates said.
“So, there’s that final hurdle.”
