Connect with us

News

Tesla’s Elon Musk clarifies confusion on ventilators donated to hospitals in need

Credit: Twitter | @NYCHealthSystem

Published

5 years ago

on

Tesla CEO Elon Musk clarified some misconceptions about some of the ventilator machines he and his company have donated to hospitals amid the coronavirus shortages.

On Tuesday, March 31, the NYC Health + Hospitals Twitter account announced they had received 40 ventilator systems from Tesla. The systems could be used for patients who have contracted COVID-19, a virus that directly affects a patient’s respiratory system and can prevent regular and comfortable breathing patterns.

Some recognized tesla’s good deeds to donate these machines as just one of his many generous acts during the crisis. However, some critics were quick to point out the fact that the ventilators sent to the hospital in Queens were CPAP/BiPAP machines, speculating that they would not assist patients in need of breathing normally.

Advertisement

The Food and Drug Administration has clarified that CPAP machines, which are usually used to treat sleep apnea, could be utilized to treat patients with non-severe symptoms, according to an article from FierceBiotech.com. The FDA took this step in response to a shortage in ventilator machines as cases of COVID-19 began to grow in the United States.

Additionally, Musk clarified that it was “very important to provide C/BiPap devices to *prevent* cases from becoming severe. Once severe (intratracheal intubation), survival rates are low.”

Musk clarified that the hospitals who requested Tesla’s help during this time were given “exact specifications” of the ventilators they would be receiving. This step ensured that hospitals would be able to use the donated ventilators for patients and that the machines would not sit around unused.

Advertisement

One of Musk’s requests and requirements for hospitals that reached out to Tesla in the time of need was that “vents are needed immediately for patients, not stored in a warehouse.” The panic was one of the reasons hospitals were not able to treat patients properly, as fear caused the act of hoarding the machines, which in turn led to some hospitals having too many ventilators, many of them being unused.

Tesla has donated 1,200 units to the city of Los Angeles and 40 units to the hospital in Queens, New York. The electric automaker will soon open the doors to both its Fremont production facility in California, and Giga New York in Buffalo to allow Medtronics to produce some of its highest-volume products.

Musk’s generosity has not gone unnoticed as political figures have appreciated the Tesla CEO’s efforts. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and California Governor Gavin Newsom have both extended appreciation to Musk after the donation of these machines. Newsom called Musk’s donations “a heroic effort.”

Related Topics:

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk hits back at drug use claims, calls publications ‘hypocrites’

Elon Musk showed a clean drug test, dispelling any rumors of drug use that came from unfounded reports from two large media outlets.

Published

1 hour ago

on

June 17, 2025

By

Credit: Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to a report from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, as both publications claimed he was abusing drugs while being involved with President Trump on both the campaign trail and while he was active within the administration after the election.

A bombshell report from the New York Times, published in late May, stated that Musk was regularly using things like ketamine, ecstasy, and psychedelic mushrooms, and also stimulants like Adderall, during his time within the Trump administration.

The reports cited inside sources who claimed the Tesla and SpaceX frontman was using substances during his time with the government.

However, Musk published the results of a recent drug test performed at Fastest Labs of South Austin. They showed ‘Negative’ results across the board:

Musk was not done there.

He went on to say the New York Times “lies as easy as breathing. It’s normal for them.” He also said both the Times and Wall Street Journal reporters should also publish their own drug test results, stating, “They won’t, because those hypocrites are guilty as sin.”

Musk said years ago that he received ketamine prescriptions from doctors to treat depression. He said he had it “years ago and said so on X, so this is not even news.” He also said that ketamine “helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven’t taken it since then.”

Tesla fans and Musk enthusiasts have joked for days now that, if Musk were to be on drugs, other CEOs should also do them, considering his persistence on work-related projects, long hours, and commitment to his job.

Advertisement

Musk has now proven that there has been no drug use with this test, and it seems as if the reports could have some sort of legal impact, although he has not said he will take any action.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla’s Grok integration will be more realistic with this cool feature

Tesla is preparing Grok for its first integration into vehicles, but it’s making it more robust than ever, firmware shows.

Published

2 hours ago

on

June 17, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has not yet integrated the AI assistant Grok into its vehicles, but when it does, it will be even more realistic with a new feature that firmware coding shows.

CEO Elon Musk teased a few months back that Grok would be making its way into vehicles in the near future. The implementation has not yet occurred, but we are confident it will be rolling out soon, especially as Tesla has its sights set on a near-term rollout of the Robotaxi platform.

Tesla’s vehicles expected to get Grok voice assistant—but when?

Grok will enable AI assistance for drivers who are both manually operating Tesla vehicles or using the company’s Full Self-Driving suite. It has been widely popular and extremely useful for users on X, Musk’s social media platform.

However, Tesla hacker green has revealed through firmware that the company is planning to roll out Grok into vehicles with personalities, giving it an even more realistic tone that is totally customizable and catered to whatever the driver wants.

Advertisement

There are also a handful of kids’ versions that will do things like tell stories or play trivia:

The true capabilities of Grok are nearly limitless. Back in January, Musk said on a livestream on X that, “You’ll be able to talk to your Tesla and ask for anything.”

Advertisement

Grok appears to only be available on AMD-based vehicles, according to other things green found in the firmware. This means that Intel-based Teslas, which are usually older models, will not enable Grok support for right now.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla dominates Cars.com’s Made in America Index with clean sweep

Tesla continues to dominate Cars.com’s Made in America Index with a clean sweep of the Top 4 spots.

Published

5 hours ago

on

June 17, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has dominated the Cars.com Made-in-America Index with a clean sweep of the top four spots. All four Tesla vehicles that were eligible for the analysis placed in the top four.

The Model 3 overtook the Model Y for first place this year. The all-electric crossover was first in 2024, but the Model 3 managed to overtake its sibling vehicle to claim the top spot in 2025. The Model Y took second, while the Model S took third, and the Model X took fourth.

This is an improvement from last year, as the Model Y took first, but the Model S and Model X placed fourth and ninth, respectively. The Model 3 was not in the Top 10 in 2024.

“Tesla continues to lead, claiming the top four spots and showcasing its commitment to domestic production. About 25% of the more than 400 vehicles on sale in the U.S. made this year’s AMI, and whether a vehicle is No. 1 or No.99, it contributes to the U.S. economy,” Patrick Masterson, lead researcher for the program, said.

More than 400 vehicles were analyzed for this year’s study, with Cars.com officially ranking 117 of them. There were two other EVs in the Top 10, as the Kia EV6 took sixth place, and the Volkswagen ID.4 finished in tenth.

This year’s study reflected major geographic and strategic shifts across the automotive industry. Of the 117 vehicles ranked in the program, they were produced at 36 domestic factories, leaving only 11 total factories that did not yield a car on the list. There are 47 assembly plants in operation in the U.S.

However, there still has not been a vehicle to quite reach the 100 percent domestic parts content, something that is extremely elusive. Masterson says the global supply chain is still extremely crucial to even the most American-built cars on the market.

Advertisement

The average domestic parts content of the Top 10 cars was 83.4 percent in 2006, but that number has shrunk to 70.3 percent in this year’s rankings.

Some might wonder where cars like the Tesla Cybertruck or Rivian R1T are on the list. However, these vehicles did not qualify because the study only considers cars under a gross weight of 8,500 pounds.

Continue Reading

Trending