Published 10:02 IST, November 15th 2020
Elon Musk says he 'most likely' has moderate case of COVID; questions accuracy of test
Elon Musk on Saturday said that he 'most likely' has a moderate case of COVID-19, as he continued to question the accuracy of the tests.
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Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk on Saturday said that he 'most likely' has a moderate case of COVID-19, as he continued to question the accuracy of the tests. This statement from Musk comes two days after he said that rapid antigen test results from the same machine and the same test showed that he tested positive twice and then negative twice in the same day.
Musk, however, did not mention any results from PCR tests, which are usually performed in labs and are more accurate than rapid tests. In a reply to a user, Musk continued to question the accuracy of the tests and cited “wildly different results from different labs."
Am getting wildly different results from different labs, but most likely I have a moderate case of covid. My symptoms are that of a minor cold, which is no surprise, since a coronavirus is a type of cold.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2020
Earlier on November 12, Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk said that he took four separate Coronavirus tests in the same laboratory, on the same day, and two returned negative while the other two were positive. "Something extremely bogus is going on. Was tested for covid four times today,” Musk immediately tweeted. “Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse. Rapid antigen test from BD," he added. The CEO of SpaceX was quick to point out that the coronavirus tests were unreliable, as he speculated how it may have been possible for him to test negative and positive to COVID-19 at the same time, referring to Becton Dickinson and Co’s speedy antigen check.
Something extremely bogus is going on. 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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2020
Musk's statement calling the tests "bogus" has once again raised concerns about the authenticity of the PCR tests that are key to isolating the COVID-19 positive cases in order to curb the transmission of the disease. However, as per a report by Healthline, experts say the current diagnostic tests for the new coronavirus are highly accurate, but the antibody tests are not as trustworthy. The typical swab tests are 100 percent effective, and while the PCR offers the capacity to detect RNA in minute quantities, whether that RNA represents infectious virus may not be clear, according to scientists.
10:02 IST, November 15th 2020