--- title: "Elon Musk Offers to Make Ventilators at Tesla Factory" description: "In a series of tweets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered to \"make ventilators if there is a shortage\" to assist hospitals during the coronavirus outbreak." date: "2020-03-19" modified: "2020-03-19" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-ventilators-tesla-factory" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid-19" - "elon musk" --- # Elon Musk Offers to Make Ventilators at Tesla Factory ![In a series of tweets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered to "make ventilators if there is a shortage" to assist hospitals during the coronavirus outbreak.]() *\Image: One Breath\* In a series of tweets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk [offered]() to "make ventilators if there is a shortage" in order to assist overtaxed hospitals during the coronavirus outbreak. It's a surprising shift for the billionaire. The news comes after he downplayed the risks of the deadly virus outbreak just last week. "The coronavirus panic is dumb," he [wrote]() on March 6. In a follow-up tweet last night, Musk explained that "the panic will cause more harm than the virus, if that hasn't happened already." Tesla was also extremely slow in its response to closing its Fremont factory in California, with local law enforcement [warning to shut it down]() after the company [refused]() to comply with the Bay Area's "shelter in place" lockdown. The US is headed for a crisis. There are [not nearly enough lifesaving ventilators]() for everybody who's currently sick with COVID-19 and still bound to get infected. The country's also been extremely slow in accelerating the production of ventilators as well. The initial plea came from a Tesla owner who works in the medical field called Raja Abbas. "Please repurpose your factory to make ventilators which are needed ASAP," Abbas wrote in [a tweet]() targeted at Musk. "I am a Tesla owner and love the company. You have to stop being an idiot about this. This is a massive disaster. Ask the doctors in the field." As it turns out, Tesla and Musk's other successful venture SpaceX could be pretty well suited for manufacturing ventilators. "Tesla makes cars with sophisticated hvac systems," Musk [explained]() in a Thursday tweet. "SpaceX makes spacecraft with life support systems. Ventilators are not difficult, but cannot be produced instantly." Despite the good will, Musk still seems hesitant about turning his business around to assist in a crisis of unprecedented proportions. He's still looking for the fire: "Which hospitals have these shortages you speak of right now?" Musk [responded]() to FiveThirtyEight editor-in-chief Nate Silver. Silver called his [bluff]() by suggesting those in need reach out to him to let Elon know. As of this morning, Bill De Blasio, New York City mayor, was already on the list, and [reaching out to Musk](). It is, as ever, Musk's move. **READ MORE:** [Tesla offers to make ventilators from its factory in response to coronavirus shortages]() \[*Teslarati*\] **More on Musk:** *[California Cops Say Tesla Factory Must Shut Down]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()