Ant-Man director Peyton Reed has jumped in the chorus of calls for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to start producing ventilators, as current supplies have been depleted in the efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Other notable figures such as Josh Gad and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have taken to Twitter to call on the tech mogul and his Tesla manufacturing factories to produce much-needed medical supplies.
The calls from Reed and others come after a recent tweet by Musk stating he would make ventilators if there was a shortage. Despite numerous reports of a shortage in face masks for both medical professionals and patients on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, Musk didn’t immediately show the same sense of urgency as many of the medical professionals who have been handling the crisis up-close. Subsequent tweets on Musk’s feed downplayed the severity of the COVID-19 coronavirus and questioned whether there was actually a shortage of masks. A direct reply from de Blasio citing the city’s drastic need for masks may have prodded Musk into action.
Musk did elaborate later on his Twitter, noting Tesla and SpaceX programs were capable of producing ventilators but it would take time to get the production up and running. His most recent tweet on the subject indicated he is working on producing ventilators but remained skeptical there would still be a shortage by the time his facilities could produce a significant amount.
Apart from calling on Musk to get to work on the issue, Reed’s Twitter response also came with a firsthand source on the shortage. The Ant-Man director noted his wife is a doctor and could confirm the lack of ventilators. In a further tweet Reed also called on Musk to help produce other medical supplies such as gloves, goggles, gowns, and a variety of medical masks.
Source: Elon Musk, Peyton Reed