Elon Musk downplays coronavirus again, says 'car crashes are more dangerous'

Tesla founder and chief executive Elon Musk again tried to downplay the threat of the coronavirus pandemic by comparing the disease against car crashes. Buzzfeed reported that the SpaceX CEO, in a memo to his employees, said that they were far less likely to die of coronavirus than car crashes adding that he doesn’t think COVID-19 is among the “top 100 health risks in the United States”.

According to the latest reports, over 3,800 coronavirus cases have been reported in the United States with 69 deaths due to the deadly infection. US President Donald Trump has also declared a national emergency to “unleash the full power” of the federal government to combat the pandemic.

Read: US Box Office Records Lowest Turnout In 20 Years As People Stay Home Due To Coronavirus

'Panic is dumb'

However, Musk has been downplaying a pandemic which has claimed over 6,500 lives worldwide with Europe witnessing a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases. On March 7, Tesla CEO took to Twitter to call the panic around the disease as dumb when netizens lashed out at him reminded him of his “privilege”.

Read: Stuck In Germany Due To Coronavirus Scare, Viswanathan Anand To Make Commentary Debut

After a significant decline in the number of cases in China, Europe has become the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic with Italy being the worst-hit. Italy has reported 368 deaths within 24 hours taking the death toll to 1,809 and the overall deaths outside China crossed the number of deaths in China for the first time on March 15.

Read: 'We're Not Pansies': US Church Won't Let Coronavirus Shut It Down, Encourages Hand-shaking

Read: Coronavirus Pandemic: South African Cricketers Fly Back Early After Being Stranded