Elon Musk Says Tesla Willing To Make Ventilators For Coronavirus Patients Amid Flap Over California Plant Operations

Elon Musk hasn’t said whether Tesla will comply with “shelter-in-place” steps taken in the San Francisco Bay Area to curb the spread of the coronavirus but he took to Twitter overnight to say his electric car company is willing to produce ventilators for hospitals that are running short of those critical medical devices. 

Tesla’s billionaire CEO made the comments in response to a tweeted question from a self-described fan who said, “please repurpose your factory to make ventilators which are needed ASAP. 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.”

“We will make ventilators if there is a shortage,” Musk responded. “Tesla makes cars with sophisticated hvac systems. SpaceX makes spacecraft with life support systems. Ventilators are not difficult, but cannot be produced instantly. Which hospitals have these shortages you speak of right now?”

His comments came after General Motors’ CEO Mary Barra told White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow her company could make hospital ventilators while its plants are idled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Musk didn’t provide details on whether Tesla was in communication with the Trump Administration or California officials about his offer. 

President Donald Trump said at White House press briefing on Wednesday that he would invoke the Defense Production Act of 1950 in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, an action that gives the federal government broad powers to enlist private companies to help with national crises. 

The mercurial entrepreneur’s willingness to assist during the crisis came late on a day when he appeared to defy Alameda County’s shelter-in-place lockdown order by maintaining vehicle production operations at Tesla’s massive plant in Fremont. Although the company was conducting operations Wednesday with only “essential” staffing at the facility, with about a quarter of its typical 10,000 employees, it was apparently still building vehicles there. That was in direct defiance of a determination by the local sheriff’s department that it only conduct basic minimum operations, such as payroll, human resources and facility maintenance functions because Tesla wasn’t designated an essential business.

“My understanding is they are still not operating at basic minimum levels,” Sergeant Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda Sheriff’s Dept., told Forbes on Wednesday. “They are operating at essential levels and need to move to minimum basic.” 

Tesla’s California production workers received an email from the human resources department early Wednesday saying “we have had conflicting guidance from different levels of government,” according to a copy of the note obtained by Forbes. “Until then, we are operating with Essential Employees only while all others are working from home, and working to incorporate all CDC guidelines into our operations.”

“There are no changes in your normal work assignment and you should continue to work if you are in an essential function: production, service, deliveries, testing and supporting groups as discussed with your manager.”

The Fremont plant is the only large auto-assembly facility on the U.S. West Coast. It was purchased from Toyota in 2010 and currently builds Model 3 and S electric sedans and Model X and Y crossovers. The company tweeted on Monday that deliveries of the Model Y started this week.

The memo to employees also said that “if you are not feeling well, please stay at home and use” paid time off. “You can also take unpaid time off, after your exhaust your PTO. You will not be penalized for your decision. There will be no disciplinary action for attendance based on health or impossibility to come to work.”

Alameda County, home to Fremont, implemented the shelter in place rules on March 16 along with San Francisco and Santa Clara Counties, effectively preventing most Silicon Valley businesses, excluding grocery stores, pharmacies, medical facilities and other essential services, from continuing normal operations for three weeks.

Separately, General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler said on Wednesday they will stop building vehicles to protect workers from the spread of coronavirus after the UAW brought new pressure on them. Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and other automakers are also preparing to stop production at North American plants.