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California Governor Says Elon Musk Delivered 1k Ventilators

21 points by notlukesky 7y ago

robotbikes 7y ago
So based upon the timeframe it seems likely that he bought them independently versus manufacturing them at Tesla, but its at least a contribution to the crisis. I'd be impressed if Tesla was able to manufacture medically sound ventilators this quick.
- senectus1 7y ago
  I suspect they're SpaceX built. He did say that's what SpaceX did, and Tesla didn't have any specialty in that space... oh... TFA specifically says he sourced them from China last week.
- axaxs 7y ago
  Nah, I think these are resells. But I read a post earlier that claimed to be a machinist doing finishing work on parts for a Tesla ventilator, so I do think we'll see them soon.
senectus1 7y ago
his is a personality i love to hate, but the man gets. shit. done. re-tooling and knocking out these ventilators as quickly as that is nothing short of astounding. yeah ok, should have read that article.. (i read one earlier that didnt mention this): From TFA: 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.
jdkee 7y ago
Why are we letting egomaniacal billionaires set public health policy instead of experts?
- anoncareer0212 7y ago
  Because the conflation of reselling ventilators with building ventilators allows him to keep Fremont open [1] even though its county "has seen some of the biggest increases of cases in the Bay Area." [2] All the while, the CEO is tweeting that a once in a century epidemic is no biggie. [3][[4] We live in strange times. [1] https://twitter.com/BradMunchen/status/1242140626524573696?s=20 https://twitter.com/BradMunchen/status/1242140626524573696?s... [2] https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/23/coronavirus-alameda-county-reports-first-death-from-covid-19-16-additional-cases/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/23/coronavirus-alameda-c... [3] https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/elon-musk-spacex-employees-car-crash-coronavirus https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/elon-musk-space... [4] https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/spacex-teachers-fear-coronavirus-elon-musk https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/spacex-teachers...
boznz 7y ago
the 1000 people who get ventilators will probably say thank you if nobody here will.
- tandr 7y ago
  more than 1000 -- they are multi-use machines. Once one patient gets off - another one can use it.
- me_me_me 7y ago
  I think you are being bit too pessimistic. Think of him what you want, but no one can criticize donation of medical equipment (whether its PR move, or sheer goodwill). 1000 extra ventilators is 1000 extra ventilators.

21 points by notlukesky 7y ago

So based upon the timeframe it seems likely that he bought them independently versus manufacturing them at Tesla, but its at least a contribution to the crisis. I'd be impressed if Tesla was able to manufacture medically sound ventilators this quick.

senectus1 7y ago
I suspect they're SpaceX built. He did say that's what SpaceX did, and Tesla didn't have any specialty in that space... oh... TFA specifically says he sourced them from China last week.
axaxs 7y ago
Nah, I think these are resells. But I read a post earlier that claimed to be a machinist doing finishing work on parts for a Tesla ventilator, so I do think we'll see them soon.

senectus1 7y ago

his is a personality i love to hate, but the man gets. shit. done. re-tooling and knocking out these ventilators as quickly as that is nothing short of astounding. yeah ok, should have read that article.. (i read one earlier that didnt mention this): From TFA: 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.

jdkee 7y ago

Why are we letting egomaniacal billionaires set public health policy instead of experts?

anoncareer0212 7y ago
Because the conflation of reselling ventilators with building ventilators allows him to keep Fremont open [1] even though its county "has seen some of the biggest increases of cases in the Bay Area." [2] All the while, the CEO is tweeting that a once in a century epidemic is no biggie. [3][[4] We live in strange times. [1] https://twitter.com/BradMunchen/status/1242140626524573696?s=20 https://twitter.com/BradMunchen/status/1242140626524573696?s... [2] https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/23/coronavirus-alameda-county-reports-first-death-from-covid-19-16-additional-cases/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/23/coronavirus-alameda-c... [3] https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/elon-musk-spacex-employees-car-crash-coronavirus https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/elon-musk-space... [4] https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/spacex-teachers-fear-coronavirus-elon-musk https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/spacex-teachers...

boznz 7y ago

the 1000 people who get ventilators will probably say thank you if nobody here will.

tandr 7y ago
more than 1000 -- they are multi-use machines. Once one patient gets off - another one can use it.
me_me_me 7y ago
I think you are being bit too pessimistic. Think of him what you want, but no one can criticize donation of medical equipment (whether its PR move, or sheer goodwill). 1000 extra ventilators is 1000 extra ventilators.