Elon Musk tests positive for COVID-19, but also negative

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter tonight that in a series of four tests for COVID-19, two of them had come back positive.

In his tweet, Musk suggests the form of testing he took, the rapid antigen test from BD Veritor, is very inaccurate, saying “something extremely bogus is going on”.

Something extremely bogus is going on. Was tested for covid four times today. Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse. Rapid antigen test from BD.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2020

When asked if he was experiencing any symptoms, Musk replied that he was only feeling as if he had a “typical cold”.

Symptoms of a typical cold. Nothing unusual so far.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2020

The BD Veritor test mentioned by the CEO is supposed to provide results in just 15 minutes based on nasal swabs. If you have COVID-19 but your viral load is low, the test could come back negative.

The test has not yet been cleared and approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but is in use due to the emergency situation of the pandemic.

To get a more definitive answer as to if he has COVID-19, Musk also said he is getting PCR tests from separate labs, the results of which will take about 24 hours. These tests can also be inaccurate, but are considered the best option for accurate results.

Musk recently travelled to Europe where he visited Germany to personally interview engineers for potential jobs at Giga Berlin. He also made a stop in Sweden, before returning to Austin, Texas on November 9.