Elon Musk and coronavirus skeptic Alex Berenson reportedly discussed starting their own publication

• Elon Musk and writer Alex Berenson reportedly discussed starting their own news company, according to The New York Times.
• Musk told The Times that the two men agree "that there's room for a fiercely nonpartisan news company," but Berenson has since abandoned the plan, the Times reports.
• Berenson, a former New York Times reporter, has said that the response to the coronavirus outbreak has been overblown and has described wearing a mask as "useless," despite evidence to the contrary.
• Musk has frequently downplayed the severity of the virus and appears to agree with Berenson on many of his views. In June, Musk tweeted that Amazon is a monopoly and should be broken up after it initially refused to publish Berenson's coronavirus booklet.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and writer Alex Berenson, who have both been skeptical about the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, reportedly discussed starting their own publication.

According to The New York Times' Ben Smith, Musk and Berenson considered launching their own news company, and Berenson held discussions about bringing on reporters. He has since abandoned the plan, The Times reports.

Musk told The Times that he and Berenson "basically just agree that there's room for a fiercely nonpartisan news company." Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Berenson, an author and former New York Times reporter, has been outspoken about his theories that the response to the coronavirus outbreak has been overblown, despite evidence from experts. He has incorrectly said "kids, children, almost anybody under 30 is at no risk" of contracting COVID-19 and that the lockdowns themselves are the source of problems related to the virus.

He has also tweeted that "Masks are useless," despite evidence that wearing a mask prevents the spread of the virus and saves lives.

In June, Berenson published a booklet called "Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns," which Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service initially declined to publish, saying that the book did not comply with its guidelines. Berenson tweeted a screenshot of Amazon's email, saying the company "censored" his book.

Musk quickly spoke up, tweeting at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that the situation was "insane." "Time to break up Amazon," Musk tweeted. "Monopolies are wrong!" Soon after, Amazon said the book was blocked in error and would be reinstated.

Musk appears to agree with Berenson on many of his views, calling the early response to the outbreak a "panic" and "dumb" and falsely saying that children are "essentially immune" to the virus. Musk has pushed for reopening businesses throughout the country, describing stay-at-home orders as "fascist" and at first defying local ordinances to reopen his Tesla plant in California.

Musk has also described coronavirus death counts in the US as "misleading," despite the fact that experts estimate the US has undercounted deaths.