Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he’s against forcing people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In an interview with Time, he added that he thinks “this is just not something we should do in America.” Time named Musk its 2021 Person of the Year.
Elon Musk: against forcing people to get vaccinated
In the TIME interview, Musk also clarified that he doesn’t think the government should force vaccinations, although he does think it should encourage people to get vaccinated.
.@elonmusk takes a stand against FORCING people to get vaccinated:
"I think this is just not something we should do in America." pic.twitter.com/04gc5ZY4fp
— Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) December 13, 2021
Musk also disagrees with requiring people to be vaccinated in order to keep their jobs. He believes people who choose not to get vaccinated “are taking a risk, but people do risky things all the time.” Musk added that we should “watch out for the erosion of freedom in America.”
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also said that he and his eligible children have gotten the COVID vaccine and believes that the “science is unequivocal.”
The great vaccination debate becomes the great freedom debate
Musk has been fighting against the government’s COVID-related orders for some time. California Gov. Gavin Newson ordered non-essential businesses to shut down early in the pandemic. However, Musk defied the order, saying that the shutdown was “fascist” and “breaking people’s freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why they came to America or built this country.”
Elon Musk’s comments against forcing people to get vaccinated come just after 27 personnel of the U.S. Air Force refused to be vaccinated without citing a medical or religious exemption, and they ended up being fired for their refusal.
On Monday, the Supreme Court decided not to block the vaccination requirement for healthcare workers who cite a religious exemption for not wanting to be vaccinated against COVID. In addition to service members and healthcare workers, government employees and even contractors are being ordered to get vaccinated. They could lose their jobs if they refuse to do so.
