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.
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.
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.
SpaceX employees will infect everyone: their grandparents, people with pre-existinng conditions at the grocery store, etc. They will contribute to community spread.
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.
> 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.
The professionals had zero preparation. The professionals were supposed to have warehouses of masks and hand sanitizers ready. We have a surgeon General and the centers (plural) for disease control, who have been doing nothing for decades. We have leaders who we pay a ton of money to, including the president, who did nothing to prepare and nothing to react. The professionals suck, they botched this. Musk may be a wing nut but he figured out how to launch space ships as a private company. At best he can do no worse than the professionals.
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
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[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 70.5 ms ] threadGoing 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.
Is this going to be another Thai cave submarine episode?
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.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/elon-musk-space...
Italy's deaths from coronavirus have already exceeded their annual deaths from car accidents:
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...
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.
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.
https://mashable.com/article/experts-doubt-tesla-elon-musk-m...
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Italy is currently at 4,825 deaths.
How many employees over 70 do you think SpaceX has?
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...
How many families will see many family members die: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51978164
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.
That’s not what he said though. He was suggesting that car accidents will kill more SpaceX employees this year than the virus.
That doesn’t seem very far fetched, it’s not like SpaceX employs many super old people.
Would anyone feel comfortable attached to a Tesla ventilator that was built in a tent? Let’s leave this one to the professionals.
TLDR Two hospitals, not a single patient survived ventilation/ecmo to date. Something weird is happening in Italy.