Elon Musk posted an anti-vaccination cartoon "against Bill Gates", but then deleted it

Tesla CEO Elon Musk used an anti-vaccine political cartoon to strike a blow at Bill Gates and Microsoft Zune.

Musk wrote on Twitter an edited cartoon, originally created by conservative artist Ben Garrison, depicting an illustrated version of Microsoft co-founder. But Musk deleted the post on Twitter about two hours later, after it was shared more than 5,000 times.

The photo, titled "The Plannedemic," appears to show Gates relying on a step-by-step plan to instill fear through a pandemic and eventually launch a "forced vaccine leak," writes Business Insider.

Garrison said Saturday that he had not given permission for his cartoon to be posted.

"Regarding Musk posting - I do not allow my work to be changed nor do I give permission to post vandalized cartoons," he told Business Insider via email.

Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates has long been a vocal proponent of vaccines, including those used to combat COVID-19.

Some who are against vaccines have spread various conspiracy theories about the billionaire.

One such theory claimed, without evidence, that Gates was secretly seeking to implant microchips in the population through COVID-19 vaccines. Gates has denied such theories.

It is unclear why Eon Musk deleted this photo from his Twitter or whether he intended to spark fears about COVID-19 vaccines by sharing an anti-vaccine cartoon.

Garrison, a conservative cartoonist who supported President Donald Trump, was suspended from Twitter earlier this year, according to his website.