China warns Elon Musk about sharing posts that promote COVID-19 lab leak theory

A Chinese state-run newspaper, the Global Times, has issued a warning to Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter and Tesla, about sharing posts that promote the lab leak theory of the coronavirus. The newspaper suggested that such commentary could damage Tesla's relationship with China, the company's second-largest market, as per a report from New York Post.

The warning came in response to a tweet by Musk commenting on a post that referenced the US Department of Energy's conclusion that COVID-19 originated at a lab in Wuhan, China. The Global Times' warning was cryptic, but it reflects the Chinese government's sensitivity about the lab leak theory and its efforts to control the narrative surrounding the pandemic's origin.

Musk risks upsetting his company's prospects in China?

A Twitter user going by the handle “Kanekoa The Great” raised doubts about Dr. Anthony Fauci's role in the creation of COVID-19, citing his funding of “gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab.“ In response, Elon Musk commented that Fauci had provided funding for the research through the nonprofit organization EcoHealth, which was awarded nearly $8 million in federal research grants to study bat coronaviruses in China. The exchange highlights the ongoing debate surrounding the origins of COVID-19 and the involvement of key players in its development.

The state-run Global Times told Elon Musk that his remarks could "break the pot of China," an expression that reportedly roughly means "to bite the hand that feeds you." CNBC's Eunice Yoon was the first to report on the warning, which followed Musk's comments on the lab leak theory of COVID-19. The stakes are high for Musk and his company, as China is Tesla's second-largest market and the location of its manufacturing plant in Shanghai. 

Turns out it was indeed a lab leak?

According to a classified intelligence report cited by the Wall Street Journal, the US Department of Energy has reportedly reached the conclusion that the most likely origin of COVID-19 is the Wuhan lab in China. The report adds to the ongoing debate over the origins of the pandemic and raises questions about the safety and transparency of research conducted in labs around the world. Not long after US Department of Energy's report, FBI to proclaimed that the pandemic, most likely, occurred, due to a leak from the lab at Wuhan Institute of Virology, where gain of function research was being conducted. 

What exactly is gain of function research?

Gain-of-function research is a type of scientific research that involves deliberately modifying a virus or another pathogen to make it more infectious or more lethal. The goal of this research is to study how these pathogens work and how they might evolve in the future. By understanding how these pathogens function, scientists hope to develop new treatments and vaccines that can protect people from them.

To perform gain-of-function research, scientists introduce specific genetic changes into the pathogen's DNA or RNA. This can be done in a number of ways, such as by introducing new mutations or by combining genes from different viruses to create a new hybrid virus. Once the virus has been modified, it is studied in a laboratory setting to see how it behaves. Scientists may test the virus on animals or in cell cultures to see how infectious it is, how it spreads, and how it affects the host organism.

While gain-of-function research can provide valuable insights into how pathogens work, it also carries significant risks. There is a chance that the modified virus could escape the lab and infect people in the real world. Additionally, there is a risk that the research could be used for nefarious purposes, such as creating bioweapons. Due to these risks, gain-of-function research is extremely controversial.