Musk ships surplus ventilators from China
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has acquired a trove of ventilators from China and shipped them to the U.S. for distribution to hospitals in need during the coronavirus.
Musk said on Twitter that “China had an oversupply, so we bought 1255 FDA-approved ResMed, Philips & Medtronic ventilators on Friday night & airshipped them to LA.”
“If you want a free ventilator installed, please let us know!” he added.
Many U.S. hospitals are desperate for more ventilators amid a shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; the illness makes it hard to breathe in the most serious cases.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed to reporters Monday that Musk had secured the medical equipment.
“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,” Newsom said, according to Bloomberg.
Musk has said Tesla and SpaceX are taking steps to begin ventilator manufacturing, though he has expressed skepticism whether they’ll still be needed once production ramps up.
Musk also has apparently taken steps to import medical masks to help alleviate another coronavirus shortage.
“We have a mask shipment stuck at LAX. Hopefully freed up soon,” he said Sunday on Twitter.
On Monday, the airport tweeted: “OK, after some additional investigating we’ve found that this shipment has since been cleared for release by the FDA. LAX, U.S. Customs and the FDA are all working together to expedite critical PPE shipments. Glad to hear it’s resolved.”