Elon Musk is known for making eye-catching statements, be it online or offline. Every now and then, Musk faces scrutiny from people across the world, and he’s done it again. Musk tweeted saying the panic surrounding coronavirus is ‘dumb’.
Strangely, Musk didn’t feel the need to explain the reason behind making such a remark.
After all, coronavirus is reported to have affected over 100,000 across the world, forcing large-scale events to be cancelled. And all Musk has to say about the panic because of the outbreak, termed as ‘public health emergency of international concern’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is ‘dumb’
Musk's own company Tesla had to briefly shut manufacturing in China due to the measures adopted to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Which is why it wasn’t surprising to see people’s reaction to his tweet which has been retweeted more by more than 222K tweeples, and thousands of those lamenting at his abject state of mind while making such a comment.
Reacting to this statement in anger, here’s what some of those people on Twitter had to say:
Concerns regarding coronavirus spreading further has forced companies to make its employees work from home, shutting down manufacturing plants, mostly in China.
Even Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has shared his concern and has written about the importance of finding a solution to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
So, when Musk calls the panic ‘dumb’ it was always going to irk people and that’s exactly what he got from the public.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)