Anthony Fauci says he has 'no idea' what Elon Musk's talking about after the Twitter chief threatened to release the 'Fauci Files'

Twitter CEO Elon Musk and former White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci. Getty Images

• Anthony Fauci said he has "no idea" what Elon Musk is talking about in regard to the "Fauci Files."
• Fauci told CBS News podcast "The Takeout" he had "nothing to say" to the billionaire. 
• Musk teased the release of the files following his previous criticism of the medical expert.

Anthony Fauci said he has "no idea" what Elon Musk is talking about after the Twitter chief threatened to release the "Fauci Files" last Sunday.

Fauci told the CBS News podcast "The Takeout": "I have no idea what he's talking about. I mean, there's a lot of misinformation, conspiracy theories and disinformation going on."

He added: "I have nothing to say to him. I don't understand what he's doing. It's just unfortunate." 

Last Sunday, Twitter CEO Musk teased the release of the "Fauci Files" following his previous criticism of the immunologist, who was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 until last year. "Hope you're having a great day 1 2023!," Musk tweeted. "One thing's for sure, it won't be boring."

In response to Musk's comment, a user tweeted: "Waiting …… for #FauciFiles." The billionaire responded: "Later this week."

Last month Musk targeted Fauci, who also stepped down as the White House chief medical advisor at the end of 2022, when he tweeted: "My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci."

On December 13, Fauci said in an interview with the scientific journal Nature that Musk's remarks "stir a lot of hate in people." Asked if his personal safety was under threat, he replied "of course," adding that he had "armed federal agents with me all the time."

Musk also said last month that several Twitter employees had an internal Slack channel called "Fauci Fan Club." After that, he posted a tweet stating that Twitter should alter policy and "follow the science," which must include "reasoned questioning of the science."

Meanwhile, journalists appointed by Musk have been discussing several controversies arising from what have been called the "Twitter Files." They include internal discussions regarding the decision to ban former President Trump from Twitter following the deadly Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.