Chinese media threatens Elon Musk for talking about COVID-19 origins

A media apparatus of the Chinese Communist Party expressed their displeasure this week with Elon Musk, after he brought attention to a social media post discussing the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

The billionaire businessman and Tesla CEO shared a tweet on Monday that referred to a blog post suggesting that the virus may have originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

Amidst growing tensions between China and the West over the origins of the pandemic, China has repeatedly denied any suggestion that the virus escaped from a laboratory and has accused foreign powers of politicizing the issue.

Following the Department of Energy's recent conclusion that the COVID-19 pandemic likely resulted from a laboratory accident in Wuhan, China, the FBI Director, Chris Wray, confirmed on Tuesday that the bureau shares this assessment.

“Dr. Anthony Fauci funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab, lied to Congress about it, and now both the FBI & the Department of Energy have concluded that the coronavirus originated at the Wuhan lab,” a user wrote in a tweet that included a video of Dr. Anthony Fauci testifying to Congress. “Does that mean Dr. Anthony Fauci funded the development of COVID-19?”

Responding to the tweet, Musk wrote, “He did it via a pass-through organization (EcoHealth).”

He did it via a pass-through organization (EcoHealth)

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2023

The Global Times, a newspaper utilized by the Chinese Communist Party to expressed their views on sensitive issues, stated that Elon Musk's recent comments have been used by US right-wing and anti-China media outlets to unfairly portray China.

Using a metaphor, the propaganda instrument of the Chinese Communist Party warned that the Twitter owner could risk “breaking the pot of China,” suggesting that Musk should think twice about hurting his own interests in the region, and that such a move would backfire on him.