Elon Musk’s, Tesla’s chief executive, offer to make ventilators for Coronavirus sufferers was welcomed by hundreds of Twitter users on Thursday after the United States appealed for donations of respirator masks to combat a shortage.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said it was in talks with China and others to help ramp up supplies of health equipment, while General Motors and Ford Motor said they were in talks with White House officials.
“We will make ventilators if there is a shortage,” Musk said on Twitter, responding to a fan’s suggestion.
The comment immediately drew hundreds of replies urging him to act.
“If, for whatever reason, you don’t believe there currently is a shortage, by all estimates, there will be,” said a social media user with the handle Internetchilla. “Please help.”
Musk is not the first chief executive to offer help with medical supplies on Twitter, however.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son offered a million free virus tests this month. A day later, following criticism that he risked overwhelming medical facilities, he offered to donate a million free masks.
In adition, companies such as Apple supplier Foxconn have refitted production lines to make masks and similar items after stores in many countries ran out and suppliers were overwhelmed by the spread of the virus.
And an Italian start-up used a 3D printer to replicate respirator valves, saying it would hand them to hospitals for free. Italy is battling the world’s worst outbreak outside China.
