After downplaying the coronaviruses and expressing skepticism about vaccines, Musk said that he and his eligible children have gotten the COVID-19 jab.
In an interview with Time published on Monday, Musk said that the science was "unequivocal" and that he was being named the magazine's Person of the Year in 2021.
He doesn't think vaccine mandates should be enforced. The unvaccinated are taking a risk, but people do risky things all the time. I believe we need to watch out for the erosion of freedom in America.
The vaccine mandate imposed by the Biden administration on businesses with more than 100 employees has been blocked by courts. In New York City, employees of private companies need to be given a shot by the end of the year.
Polls show that most Americans are in favor of the requirements, despite the vocal opposition from the unvaccinated population.
Musk has made it clear that he doesn't like big government imposing restrictions on people and businesses in order to fight a disease. When California forced non essential businesses to close, Musk fought publicly with officials and eventually reopened the California factory in defiance of their rules.
Musk slammed shelter-in-place measures as "fascist" and "breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong" in April 2020.
He shared anti-vaccine content online and voiced doubts about the vaccine. In a September 2020 interview with The New York Times, Musk said that he and his family did not plan to take a vaccine when it was available. In April, he deleted an edited cartoon that depicted Bill Gates as the mastermind behind the vaccine debacle.
Conspiracy theorists have been pushing the idea that Gates planned the vaccine to implant chips into people.
Musk clarified his view on the vaccine in April, saying that he supports vaccines in general and covid vaccines specifically. The science is clear.
