A state-run Chinese publication has warned Elon Musk about publicly commenting about a sensitive controversy in China, a key market for Tesla.
Scientists generally believe there are two possible ways the covid pandemic could have begun in 2020.
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One theory is that the virus jumped to people from animals at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China.
The other is that there was a virus leak at a laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The argument between proponents of each theory has become politicized. The Chinese government fights back against the lab leak theory as it strains relations with the U.S. Inside the U.S., the controversy divides many Republicans and Democrats.
On Feb. 26, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Energy had concluded in a classified report -- with "low confidence" -- that the lab leak theory was the correct one.
Soon, Tesla (TSLA) CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk waded into the discussion on Twitter, and Chinese authorities seem to have taken exception.
Musk replied to a Feb. 26 tweet by Substack writer @KanekoaTheGreat.
"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," the tweet said. "Does that mean Dr. Anthony Fauci funded the development of COVID-19?"
"He did it via a pass-through organization (EcoHealth)," Musk replied in a tweet.
Reporting on the Chinese warning to Musk was CNBC's Eunice Yoon.
"#China Communist Party paper warns @elonmusk against pushing #COVID19 lab leak theory," tweeted Yoon. "@globaltimesnews posts on social media 'Elon Musk, are you breaking the pot of China?' ('Breaking the pot after eating' is Chinese 'biting the hand that feeds you.')"
The message seemed to be a warning to Musk from a business perspective. Tesla owns a large factory in Shanghai, and China is the world's second largest market for his electric vehicles.
