Musk: Something 'Bogus' Is Happening With COVID Tests

He says he tested both negative and positive
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 13, 2020 8:19 AM CST
Musk: I Tested Negative and Positive for COVID
An employee of a new Lufthansa corona quick test center shows the test device to the camera at the airport in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020.   (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Elon Musk says he was tested for the coronavirus after experiencing cold-like symptoms—but after four tests, he still doesn't know if he's infected. "Something extremely bogus is going on," the Tesla CEO tweeted Thursday night. "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 [Becton, Dickinson and Co]." Musk said that as well as the rapid-response tests, he is getting PCR tests—which are considered more accurate and usually involve a nasal or throat swab—from two separate labs and will get results in 24 hours, the Wall Street Journal reports. When a follower commented that revenues from tests "are likely not bogus & very consistent," Musk responded, "Exactly."

Musk has made numerous statements criticizing the response to the pandemic, though he does not have a good track record with predictions. In early March, he tweeted that "the coronavirus panic is dumb" and predicted "close to zero new cases" by the end of April. The following month, he described lockdown restrictions as "fascist" after a Tesla plant was forced to temporarily close, the Washington Post notes. The Verge reports that experts have warned that rapid antigen tests can be unreliable and negative results should be confirmed with a PCR test. The FDA said in May that "positive results from antigen tests are highly accurate, but there is a higher chance of false negatives." (More coronavirus stories.)

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