Yesterday, we posted that New York State Assemblyman Sean Ryan sent a letter to Elon Musk, asking that the Buffalo Tesla plant be dedicated to manufacturing ventilators. The request was twofold – to put Buffalonians to work, while providing these essential medical devices to those in desperate need.
Today’s news brings with it a confirmation that Musk is indeed transitioning part of the plant to producing the medical devices.
“I want to thank Elon Musk and everyone at Tesla for responding so quickly to my call to begin making ventilators at the Tesla factory in Buffalo. This is a critical moment for our state and our country. We are all practicing social distancing to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, and at the same time, we recognize the importance of preparing our healthcare system for what’s next. Ventilators are essential to our response and as Governor Cuomo has noted, the state needs at least 30,000 to meet the growing need. I look forward to working with Tesla and New York State as ventilator production begins to ramp up in Buffalo. My thanks to workers everywhere who are still on the job working tirelessly to keep our economy going, and my thoughts are with everyone directly and indirectly impacted by the pandemic. Rest assured that your state government will continue fighting for resources and working to keep everyone safe. I encourage all New Yorkers to continue to stay home to help stop the spread.”
Musk said that that plan to manufacture the respirators would get under way as soon as possible.