Tech billionaire, Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk has reignited the global debate around the safety of COVID-19 vaccines after sharing his personal experience with the virus and its vaccine. In a post on His comments on April 12, 2026, were in response to testimony by former Pfizer toxicologist Dr. Helmut Sterz at a German parliamentary inquiry into estimates of vaccine-related deaths. The post has since sparked a global conversation, with users sharing personal experiences and health authorities reiterating established scientific findings about the vaccine’s safety.
What Elon Musk said about the COVID-19 vaccine
Musk contrasted his COVID-19 infection with his vaccine experience on X.“The vaccine dose was clearly too high and given too many times,” he wrote. “I had the original Wuhan virus before there were any vaccines, and it was much like any other cold or flu. It was bad, but not terrible. But my second shot nearly sent me to the hospital. It felt like I was going to die.”The post retweeted content shared by Swedish journalist Peter Imanuelsen (@PeterSweden7), who amplified the testimony of Dr. Helmut Sterz before the German Bundestag’s COVID-19 Investigative Committee. Musk’s comments quickly became one of the most discussed topics on the platform.
Testimony in German parliament started it all
The focus of the controversy is Dr. Helmut Sterz’s appearance before the Bundestag’s coronavirus committee on March 19, 2026, at the invitation of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Sterz, a retired toxicologist who previously worked at pharmaceutical companies Roche and Pfizer, has made multiple claims about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.He claimed key preclinical safety studies were bypassed during development and raised concerns about long-term effects. Most controversially, he multiplied the official German data reported to the Paul Ehrlich Institute (i.e. 2,133 post-vaccination deaths) to arrive at a speculative estimate of 20,000 to 60,000 vaccine-related deaths in Germany based on extrapolation rather than confirmed causal data.This number has not been independently verified or supported by public health authorities and remains a matter of personal interpretation rather than scientific consensus.
Elon Musk’s complicated history with COVID-19 vaccines
This isn’t the first time Musk has talked about a COVID-19 vaccine, and his stance has changed over time.In September 2020, he stated that he would not get vaccinated. Months later, after testing positive for COVID-19, he changed his stance. By 2021, he was openly supporting vaccines in general and COVID-19 vaccines in particular.He later received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which he tolerated well but reported a strong reaction to a subsequent mRNA booster dose. In January 2023, he wrote that he experienced serious side effects after receiving a booster shot and felt severely unwell for several days. He also mentioned a relative who developed myocarditis after receiving the vaccine.
“I’m not against vaccines,” Musk’s subtle stance
Despite the criticism, Musk has always said he is not opposed to vaccines. In a 2024 interview with Tucker Carlson, he acknowledged that vaccines have saved many lives and are still important in preventing disease.He pointed to the polio and smallpox vaccines as key medical achievements. His biggest concern is the mandate, not the vaccine itself.“I’m more concerned about the requirement that people have to be vaccinated and have multiple boosters before they can do anything,” he wrote, adding that employees who refuse to be vaccinated will not be fired.
What does the science actually say?
Health authorities continue to insist that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective for most people. The World Health Organization describes them as a key tool in reducing serious illness and death during the pandemic.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that myocarditis is a rare side effect of the mRNA vaccine that is usually mild and resolves without complications.Common side effects such as fatigue, fever and aches and pains are expected immune responses and are usually short-lived. Musk did not specify his specific symptoms, making clinical interpretation difficult.The controversy surrounding Musk’s comments reflects a broader tension between established scientific evidence and personal experience in post-pandemic discussions. While adverse events do occur, they are still rare compared with the overall benefit of vaccination in preventing serious disease.What is clear is that high-profile voices can greatly influence public perception. Debates around vaccines, risks and personal choices continue to evolve as Musk once again takes center stage in the conversation.
