In a Time magazine interview, SpaceX CEO and entrepreneur Elon Musk came out against vaccine mandates, saying that no one in America should be fired for refusing the jab.
“Are you vaccinated, if I may ask,” a Time interviewer asks.
“Yeah. Yeah, I am,” Musk responds. “I’m very pro-vaccination. The science is unequivocal — I treat it to that effect.”
“But by the same token, I am against forcing people to be vaccinated. You know, I think this is just not something we should do in America. I think we should encourage them to get vaccinated, strongly try to convince them to get vaccinated, but not force them to get vaccinated.”
Time’s 2021 Person of The Year @ElonMusk: "I am against forcing people to be vaccinated. I think this is just not something we should do in America" pic.twitter.com/Ek1ykolY4g
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) December 13, 2021
“Or for example,” Musk continues, “force them to get vaccinated or get fired.”
For sure wise for elderly or immunocompromised to take the vaccine. Some debate about the second jab though. Quite a few negative reactions to that.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 12, 2021
Musk’s comments come in the wake of increasingly tyrannical measures aimed at eroding freedom globally. Even in the US, President Joe Biden has attempted to mandate vaccines for all businesses that employ more than 100 employees — an order widely rejected by business owners and blocked by federal judges.
“I believe we’ve got to watch out for the erosion of freedom in America,” Musk says.
Musk has been vocal since the beginning of the pandemic, refusing to force his employees to get vaccinated, even while fellow tech billionaires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg rushed to do just that — almost like they were giddy at the prospect of sticking needles into their employees’ arms.
Unless susceptible to extreme natural disasters, nuclear power plants should not be shut down
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 8, 2021
In early 2020, before many people were aware of how far the government was willing to go or how long all of this would last, Musk shot down the shelter in place measures, calling them “fascist” and that they were “breaking people’s freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why they came to America or built this country.”
However, his views have changed slightly, as, in early 2020, he steadfastly rejected the vaccine, rightly stating, “I’m not at risk for COVID, nor are my kids.”
Regardless, he has consistently opposed mandates and has been similarly critical on Twitter (though, less explicitly) of anti-freedom mandates, recently claiming that “Nothing is more permanent than a “temporary” government program.”
Nothing is more permanent than a “temporary” government program
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 8, 2021
