NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is asking Elon Musk for Tesla-made ventilators as the city's hospitals face a shortage

• After Elon Musk said on Twitter that he and Tesla could start making ventilators to assist hospitals, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took Musk up on his offer.
• De Blasio said that "New York City is buying!" and that the city would be reaching out to Musk directly.
• Musk said on Twitter that ventilators would not be difficult for Tesla and SpaceX to produce, and asked which hospitals are facing shortages.
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is taking up Elon Musk on his offer to produce ventilators to assist hospitals during the coronavirus epidemic.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said in a tweet that "we will make ventilators if there is a shortage," and asked which hospitals are facing shortages. As cases of the coronavirus rise in the US, hospitals could soon run out of ventilators used to support people experiencing respiratory problems from the virus.

Nate Silver, editor in chief of FiveThirtyEight, pointed out that New York and Seattle are in need of ventilators.

De Blasio replied that "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."

Musk said that "Tesla makes cars with sophisticated hvac systems. SpaceX makes spacecraft with life support systems. Ventilators are not difficult, but cannot be produced instantly."

Tesla and SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

@elonmusk 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.

- Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) March 19, 2020

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?

- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 19, 2020