Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. And an outspoken skeptic of the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, donated more than 1,000 ventilators to officials in Los Angeles to meet demand as the pandemic becomes more severe.
The billionaire said in a tweet he helped acquire 1,255 of the machines from China last week and arranged them to be air-shipped to Los Angeles. He thanked Tesla staff and customs officials in China and Los Angeles for assistance.
“Elon Musk: how about this? I told you a few days ago he was likely to have 1,000 ventilators this week,” California Governor Gavin Newsom told reporters in a briefing Monday. “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 [a] heroic effort.”
Musk’s move comes after he tweeted dismissively about whether there will even be a ventilator shortage. The entrepreneur had also called the panic surrounding the outbreak “dumb” and said that kids are “essentially immune” despite evidence that it can be serious for some children. Musk spent days dueling with local officials over a county shelter-in-place order before Tesla finally idled production at its lone U.S. Car-assembly plant.
Tesla now joins General Motors Co. In providing ventilators after one Tesla customer urged him to re-purpose Tesla’s factory to produce the machines.
Newsom said six California companies have offered their facilities to manufacture gowns and he’s in conversation with another 25 providers that want to start 3D printing masks for health-care workers.
Updated models predict the state is 50,000 hospital beds short to meet needs as the pandemic spreads, the governor said. For the health care workers who will staff those additional beds, Newsom said the state is looking to procure 1 billion gloves and more than 500 million masks.
“That’s not a typo,” Newsom said.
More coronavirus coverage from Coins2Day:
—Why the extraordinary dollar surge spells more trouble for the global economy
—Japan finally admits coronavirus might disrupt Tokyo 2020 Olympics
—Which stores are open—and closed—during the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.?
—What medical experts say about Everlywell’s home coronavirus testing kits
—How to defer your mortgage payment due to coronavirus
—How Emmy season is proceeding, with caution, amid the coronavirus crisis
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Coins2Day podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: World leaders and health experts on how to stop the spread of COVID-19
Subscribe to Outbreak, a daily newsletter roundup of stories on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global business. It’s free to get it in your inbox.