Elon Musk is praised for ‘heroic effort’ after delivering 1,000 ventilators to California hospital
- Musk’s donation comes despite previously downplaying the severity of the virus
- The billionaire has questioned whether there would be a ventilator shortage
- The US currently has around 170,000 ventilators, with over 700,000 needed
- Tesla to join Ford and GM in producing more ventilators to meet demand
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Elon Musk, billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been praised for delivering over 1,000 ventilators to a California hospital to help with the treatment of patients with COVID-19.
Despite repeatedly downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, Musk promised last week that he would procure ventilators to help with the shortage that is predicted across the United States.
He has also said on Twitter that he could use the Tesla factory to produce more ventilators to help meet growing demand in US hospitals.
‘Heroic Effort’: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has procured over 1,000 ventilators for a California hospital to meet growing demand as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the arrival of the ventilators in Los Angeles during a press conference, calling Musk’s work a ‘heroic effort’.
‘I told you a few days ago that [Musk] was likely to have 1,000 ventilators this week,’ Newsom said. ‘They arrived in Los Angeles and Elon Musk is already working with the hospital association and others to get those ventilators out in real time. It’s an heroic effort.’
California Governor Gavin Newsom gives an update on the coronavirus in California, and announces that Elon Musk has donated ventilators to help the treatment efforts
Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is deserted as shops close and people self-isolate in efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus
Musk’s donation appears to contradict his earlier statements on the virus in which he questioned whether there would even be a shortage of ventilators across the country.
He has also previously called the virus ‘dumb’ while saying children are ‘essentially immune’. This has since been proven false with children as young as 12 being treated for the virus in the United States.
A report by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security estimated that the US has roughly 160,000 ventilators that are ready to be used in hospitals, with a further 8,900 held in reserve.
This is well short of the 742,000 required across the US for a severe pandemic scenario, according to a 2005 pandemic plan from the US Department of Health and Human Services. Others have predicted the country could need over a million.
Musk has also suggested that he could employ his Tesla gigafactory to create more ventilators, Tweeting in response to a follower suggesting this: ‘We’re working on ventilators, even though I think there will not be a shortage by the time we can make enough to matter.’
Musk says that Tesla are working on ventilators to help meet increased demands
This would add Tesla to the list of other automotive companies, including Ford and General Motors, to use their manufacturing capabilities to produce ventilators to meet the increasing demand.
Tesla’s gigafactory, near Reno, Nevada, could be used to produce ventilators for the US, which is predicted to need over 700,000 as the virus continues to spread through the country
Newsom told the press that six California companies have also offered to help the effort by making medical gowns, and that he has spoken to a further 25 who want to begin 3D printing masks for healthcare workers.
The United States now has the third highest confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the world, with over 45,000, over 2,200 of which have been in California.