
SpaceX and Tesla Working on Ventilators - mmhsieh
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/20/spacex-and-tesla-are-working-on-ventilators-elon-musk-says/
======
new_realist
Just like Elon was going to rescue the Thai cave boys, fix Flint’s water
supply, etc.

Musk’s PR strategy is to inject himself into every trending topic.

This, after Musk has made several incredibly irresponsible factual
misrepresentations of the current outbreak, comparing it to the common cold
and suggesting that car accidents will kill more people this year than this
virus.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this ventilator play is an exemption which keeps
his workforce at work, working on things he wants to work on, like cars and
rockets, all the while spreading COVID-19.

~~~
new_realist
Note also that in Italy, deaths from coronavirus have already surpassed
_yearly_ deaths from auto accidents—-and this is just the beginning.

~~~
ryanlol
I’m not sure how that’s relevant though, SpaceX employees are much younger and
healthier than the people dying in italy
[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-18/99-of-
tho...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-18/99-of-those-who-
died-from-virus-had-other-illness-italy-says)

How many employees over 70 do you think SpaceX has?

~~~
clouddrover
How many friends and relatives over 70 do you think SpaceX employees have? How
many parents? How many will die due to the spread of coronavirus? How many
will SpaceX employees infect?

Italy's death toll is now up to 5,476. That's 651 more since yesterday.

How many people under 70 with severe disease will survive without medical
intervention, intervention they may not get if the cases spike:
[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/coronavir...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/coronavirus-
in-young-people-is-it-dangerous-data-show-it-can-be)

How many families will see many family members die:
[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-
canada-51978164](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51978164)

Musk's comments are all kinds of stupid. Don't waste your time defending him.

~~~
ryanlol
> Musk's comments are all kinds of stupid. Don't waste your time defending
> him.

I don’t disagree, I’m merely objecting to the fact that new_realist appears to
be deliberately misrepresenting Musk’s comments as if they weren’t silly
enough as is.

------
boznz
I have studied this a fair bit and the technology is relatively simple (look
it up) biggest challenge is securing enough medical grade oxygen. So yes, GM
or Tesla or a lot of other companies with manufacturing bases could make them
pretty easily, however the current manufacturers of ventilators have got a lot
to loose with an over-supply of cheap ventilators so expect FUD

------
clouddrover
So Musk has gone from saying the "coronavirus panic is dumb"
([https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1236029449042198528](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1236029449042198528))
to now making ventilators.

Going from zero to manufacturing medical grade equipment is non-trivial. Even
once you have the equipment there are going to be staffing shortages in
hospitals. Patients on ventilators need to be constantly monitored. You don't
just plug them in and leave them.

Musk's downplaying of the seriousness of COVID-19 hasn't helped anyone.

~~~
romland
I had not seen this quote before. Reading what you said; my initial thought
was on the emphasis, the _panic_ IS dumb. So, I clicked in and verified that
he actually had said exactly those words and read the next 2-3 responses. I
felt that, yeah, he is referring to the panic. It's something I've repeatedly
said the last two weeks: Personally, I am not afraid of the virus. I am afraid
of people's response. I say this as one of the unfortunate bastards with a
condition that puts me in a risk group. I am also no fan of Musk, per-se
(well, not more than you would have admiration for any person that are able to
accomplish things).

Whether he's capable of making a difference around ventilators in the short
term -- let's just say I am as skeptical as the next guy. Likewise, I should
probably have read the entirety of the Twitter thread before replying.

~~~
clouddrover
In a memo to employees Musk said, "The risk of death from C19 is _vastly_ less
than the risk of death from driving your car home":

[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/elon-musk-
space...](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/elon-musk-spacex-
employees-car-crash-coronavirus)

Italy's deaths from coronavirus have already exceeded their annual deaths from
car accidents:

[https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html](https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-
related_death_rate)

Without the work that hospitals are doing and without the measures to limit
exposure the death rate would be even higher.

Musk's perspective on COVID-19 is ignorant and frankly stupid.

~~~
senectus1
yeah but hang on... if you add to that factor that 70-90+ age brackets... how
does that then add up?

------
comradesmith
This is going to be a repeat of that stupid submarine isn't it?

------
fightorflight
I hope Tesla’s quality control issues have been resolved if they’re going to
be creating life support equipment.

------
rasz
Ventilators are not _the_ answer. Italy Cremona
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfkbv_WQtn0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfkbv_WQtn0)
Italy Bergamo
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_suhYeWEcJg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_suhYeWEcJg)

TLDR Two hospitals, not a single patient survived ventilation/ecmo to date.
Something weird is happening in Italy.

