There is a fresh wave of alternative medicine and purported miracle cures thanks to internet conspiracy theories.
The hotel on the outskirts of town looks a lot like lodging one can find on any American highway. Over the years, it has been a holiday inn and a day inn. The sign outside now bears the brand of a new, growing chain. One that promises a lot more than a good night’s sleep. At the Tesla Wellness Hotel and MedBed Center, about 45 minutes north of Pittsburgh, the enticements are nothing short of miraculous. Part motel, part new-age clinic, the facility offers nightly rentals in rooms that come equipped with “BioHealers”—canisters that the company claims exude “life force energy,” or biophotons. Testimonials from the company’s patients speak to the devices’ power to treat cancer, dementia, chronic pain and a long list of other ailments.
The center also sells the canisters for home use. Prices start at $599 and range all the way to $11,000 for the largest model, with slightly cheaper versions available for pets and children. Just don’t call the thousands of people who have shelled out big bucks to Tesla “patients.” Dr. James Liu, the physician who founded Tesla, doesn’t like the term—perhaps the first clue that what he’s selling goes far beyond the abilities of traditional medicine. Liu, who received a Ph.D. in human nutrition from Penn State University and a medical degree from China, stated, “We are not a clinic, not a doctor’s office.” “I always refer to them as customers for the business, myself.”
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Miracle Cures
With no affiliation to the automaker, Tesla Biohealing is a part of a burgeoning sector that caters to individuals wary of science and medicine and conspiracy theorists by offering dubious remedies and cures. According to experts who research these kinds of claims, social media, the internet, and mistrust of conventional medical treatment are all contributing factors to their rise. Although hucksters offering miracle cures have always existed, Timothy Caulfield, a University of Alberta health policy and law professor who specializes in medical ethics and fraud, feels that the trend is picking up speed. “There are a few factors at play here, including mistrust of conventional science and medicine as well as the internet and social media. This mistrust is being cultivated and fed by conspiracy ideas.
Miracle Cures
Claiming their remedies can fight COVID-19 more effectively than a vaccination, cure aging, or restore mental clarity, these modern salespeople mix the spiritual rhetoric of traditional and Eastern medicine with the high-tech jargon of Western research. Better health is what they purport to offer, but in reality, what they’re selling is the notion of insider knowledge—a secret that is only accessible to the powerful and rich.
Miracle Cures
A one-night stay in a “highly energized” room at the Tesla complex in Butler runs for $300. The rooms look like any other motel room, although a look beneath the bed reveals several of the biophoton devices placed underneath. The company runs seven other medbed centers in other states and its devices are used at several other “partner” facilities operated by other businesses. Inside the canisters? A mix of “fine naturally active stones and activated fine metal, grout, sands and proprietary polymers that are manufactured with a special technology,” according to the company.
Miracle Cures
In addition to the biophoton-emitting cannisters, the company also sells bottled water—24 packs of 16.9-ounce bottles of Tennessee spring water—for $150. The company says the water has been imbued with “life force energy” that can increase energy and libido, improve breathing, digestion and sleep, reduce pain and lead to “vivid dreams to indicate enhanced brain activity.” At Walmart, a 24-pack of 16.9-ounce generic-brand water bottles retails for less than $4. Online testimonials from Tesla’s customers speak to the life-changing power of the company’s products, with gushing superlatives such as “It worked miracles!” But experts and scientists who have studied the company’s claims say there’s no scientific evidence to support them.
Miracle Cures
Tesla acknowledges the facts in its terms of service: “Tesla BioHealing does not provide any medical advice,” the fine print says. “Our products… are not intended to replace your physicians’ care, diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition.” Liu told The Associated Press that he was unfamiliar with the medbed conspiracy theory when he named his company and that he isn’t trying to exploit gullible people who want to believe medbeds are real. He said 40,000 people have used his devices so far, and he believes the cannisters can treat about 80% of all diseases. Many of the company’s claims ape the language of science, said Caulfield, the Canadian law professor, including technical-sounding words like “quantum” or “biophotons” to add to their credibility.
Miracle Cures
“They sound high-tech and employ the language of technology and medicine, even borrowing the name of Nikola Tesla,” Caulfield said. “It’s designed to enhance their credibility.” Tesla’s claims about life force energy are also based, somewhat, on fact. Biophotons are real—a type of light emitted by living tissue that can’t be seen by the human eye. But their role in health is not well understood and their use as a medical therapy is not proven, according to Bahman Anvari, a professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Riverside.
Tesla is now undertaking a clinical study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the cannisters. For now, the company cites a single medical study written by Liu and three other Tesla employees as evidence to back up its claims. That study found that Tesla’s canisters helped a woman who had complained of severe menstrual pain. Anvari, however, noted that Tesla’s single journal article was not peer-reviewed, was limited to a single patient who was also receiving standard treatments, lacked a control group and has not been replicated. “It’s completely scientifically implausible,” Caulfield said. “But if you’re desperate and you’re looking for answers, you can see why you’d be drawn to it.”
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