KEY POINTS

  • Elon Musk urges to lift the lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic through “Free America Now” campaign on Twitter
  • Musk believes that people are free to stay at home but the should not be compelled for leaving, and arrest them when they do
  • While Musk’s views about freedom amid the global pandemic were supported by some, there were many who opposed
  • Supporters of Musk cited the implications of the lockdown, while those who oppose put emphasis on what could happen if it ends amid the pandemic

Elon Musk has issues with the statewide shelter-at-home order in the United States. He took the campaign “Free America Now” to Twitter, which was met by several reactions from Netizens.

Musk is one of the many people who protested the shelter-at-home amid the coronavirus pandemic. He is not against people staying at their houses; however, the Tesla boss believes that citizens should not be compelled.

The 48-year-old billionaire used the social media platform Twitter to tell the public of his sentiments about the stay-at-home order with a three-word tweet, “Free America Now.”

Dr. Eugene Gu, in response to Musk’s tweet, shared his own views and opinion as to why he believed that the stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic were the right thing to do. The founder and CEO of Cool Quit said 5,000 people died from the coronavirus on April 16 highlighting that most of the numbers were from New York City and if that was nationwide without a lockdown, the numbers would go up.

Another Twitter user believed the idea was ridiculous and questioned Musk if he had any idea how he sounded.

YouTuber Anthony Padilla took notice of Musk’s controversial tweet. Sounding rather disappointed, Padilla replied citing the consequences if the lockdown in the United States would end amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Among those who were disappointed was Ariana Grande’s mom, Joan. In her reply to Musk’s tweet, she said Musk was irresponsible, considering that he thought of himself as a man of science and technology. Grande ended her tweet with #BoycottTesla after saying that she wanted to get rid of her Teslas.

Contrary to Musk’s belief that freedom was taken away from the people of America, one netizen said that the majority of the Americans comply with the stay-at-home and social distancing orders in the interest of public health.

Meanwhile, there were others who supported Musk’s view. One Twitter user pointed out that the growing part of the scientific community believed that the infection rates were not drastically decreased by lockdown emphasizing the herd immunity factor and cited Sweden as one of the countries which did not impose a lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic.

Another Twitter user, who supported the views of Musk, said that lockdowns were paralyzing the country and pointed out lesser restrictive measures that appeared to be sufficient to control the coronavirus.

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