Elon Musk has offered to make ventilators at Tesla/ SpaceX factories

[octoberlib]

Link to tweet

?s=21


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?

Link to tweet

?s=21

New York City is buying!

Our country is facing a drastic shortage and we need ventilators ASAP — we will need thousands in this city over the next few weeks. We’re getting them as fast as we can but we could use your help!

We’re reaching out to you directly.

[Nonhlanhla]

1. Elon Musk is a total weirdo

but he knows how to get stuff done, so I hope he does this.

[unblock]

2. he knows how to make crazy promises and surround himself with people who know how to get things done

when it's possible, anyway.

in this case it very much sounds he's spouting off without having looked into the details at all.

i do hope that his engineers can figure out how to repurpose their plants to make ventilators, but i seriously doubt elon musk knows if this is really doable in a reasonable timeframe.

[octoberlib]

3. This is true. He gets high and then

says things on Twitter he can’t back up.

[getagrip_already]

5. I call BS - ventilators are not difficult to make....

They are a logic board, some actuators, some pumps, some sensors, a display, a few control buttons and a lot of hosing and plastic.

Building them is not rocket science. But it would speed things up greatly if he had an fda approved design to start with.

That's where the feds and emergency powers should step in.

This is entirely possible, and musk is correct. It takes time for inital design and setup, but the manufacturing would be a snap for any company dealing in high tech manufacturing.

Dell would be another example of a company that could turn these out like candy if they were handed a design and parts list.

[backscatter712]

6. That, and Elon literally does rocket science for a living.

Good on him for offering to lend a hand.

[unblock]

7. i'm not saying that he couldn't do it in general.

if he even wanted to start a brand new company with nothing but money and an empty lot, i don't doubt that an entrepreneur like musk could do it, eventually.

the question is whether he could do it, even given the head start of his existing businesses' manufacturing capabilities, in a timeframe short enough to be useful in this crisis.

moreover, there may be some sourcing issues here that might not be relevant in other times.

there are a lot of engineering questions to be answered to know that.

generally speaking, going from idea to mass production inside of 18 months is very difficult. if it even takes 12 months it's probably too late. maybe he can do it in 3 months, i don't know. but i won't be surprised it in a few days he backtracks.

obviously, i hope he (and others) step up and are able to help out here.

[getagrip_already]

8. modern manufacturing capabilities are flexible - you can easily retool.....

It's the raw materials that will give him issues. A lot of medical supplies come from china, and they aren't shipping. They also aren't sympathetic giving trumps insults around the "china virus".

So where do you get medical grade plastic tubing? Or actuators in bulk that would exceed current yearly output of all suppliers combined?

That is where the delay will come in. A new PCB can literally be designed and ready for test in a day. It's the parts that get fused onto it that will be the issue.

[MFGsunny]

9. + 1000 n/t

[we can do it]

4. More action less talk.