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Elon Musk suggests COVID-19 vaccine caused Bronny James’ cardiac arrest

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated25 Jul 2023

Elon Musk suggests COVID-19 vaccine caused Bronny James' cardiac arrest

Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla CEO, hinted at the possibility that LeBron James’ son, Bronny, suffered a cardiac arrest during a basketball workout in Los Angeles on Monday due to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Musk, 52, posted this message to Twitter on Tuesday: “We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing. Myocarditis is a known side-effect. The only question is whether it is rare or common.”

Myocarditis, also known as inflammatory cardiomyopathy, causes inflammation of the heart muscle. This acquired cardiomyopathy has been reported in cases involving adolescents and young adult males who were administered the mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).


Common symptoms of myocarditis include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, headache, fainting, flu-like fever, swelling of legs or arms due to fluid retention, and upper respiratory tract infection. If left untreated, it can lead to heart failure, heart attack or stroke, abnormal heart rhythms, and sudden cardiac death.

According to CDC data as of May 2022, there were 635 cases of myocarditis diagnosed out of the 54.8 million doses of the mRNA vaccine given to children between the ages of 5 and 17.

“Any health problem that happens after vaccination is considered an adverse event. An adverse event can be caused by the vaccine or can be caused by a coincidental event not related to the vaccine,” the CDC said.

The risk of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination is highest in young men between the ages of 18 and 39 and older teen boys in the age range of 12 to 17, with the highest risk after the second dose of vaccine, per a survey from CBS News this past March.

Elon Musk hinted at the possibility that the COVID-19 vaccine led to Bronny James’ cardiac arrest during a basketball workout, believes health problems related to the shots are more common

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for James’ family informed TMZ Sports of Bronny’s medical scare. “Yesterday while practicing, Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital.

“He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family, and we will update media when there is more information.”

Bronny was rushed to the hospital after a 911 call was made at 9:26 a.m. from the Galen Center, where USC practices.

“LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes,” the statement said.


According to an October 2022 publication titled “Myocarditis After COVID-19 Vaccination in Pediatrics: A Proposed Pathway to Triage and Treatment” from the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA), heart-related ailments have been reported from Americans after receiving their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccines.

“The CDC and Food and Drug Administration have determined a causal link is likely between the mRNA vaccines (ie, Pfizer‐BioNTech, Moderna) and myocarditis,” wrote authors Nefthi Sandeep, Mary P. Fairchok, and Karen Hasbani.

“Though this is a rare complication (70.7 and 105.9 cases in adolescent males per million doses of Pfizer‐BioNTech vaccine in ages 12–15 and ages 16-17, respectively) more cases of post‐vaccine myocarditis/myopericarditis are anticipated as more adolescents and younger children become vaccinated.”

Does Elon Musk have a point? Well, studies show that sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death among young athletes. However, sudden cardiac death was already the No. 1 killer in athletes back in 2016. The only way to know for sure on the COVID-19 vaccines is to compare data from 2019 and earlier to right now.

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