Prognosis
Elon Musk’s ‘Ventilators’ Arrived at Hospitals — With Some Assembly Required
- Mount Sinai had to ‘MacGyver’ the devices into ventilators
- Elon Musk has bristled at criticism of Tesla’s contributions
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
Hospitals across the U.S. say they were grateful to receive bulk donations of breathing machines from Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk at the apex of the Covid-19 crisis -- even if they fell short of the high-end ventilators that were most in need.
At Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, for example, Tesla donated about 200 bi-level positive airway pressure machines, or BiPAPs, in late March. While the devices can help patients in respiratory distress, they’re more commonly used in the home to treat sleep apnea, and aren’t as powerful as the ventilators used to treat the sickest patients in intensive care units.