Elon Musk offers to make ventilators ‘if there is a shortage’ after facing criticism

From calling the panic dumb to telling employees that car crashes are more dangerous than the coronavirus, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has faced quite a lot of flack for his comments about the global pandemic.

However, in a slight change of track, Musk has said his companies will help make ventilators "if there is a shortage" amidst the COVID-19 spreading through the globe.

"We will make ventilators if there is a shortage," Musk tweeted in response to a user asking him to repurpose Tesla's factory to help with the crisis. 

In a separate thread, Musk was told there was a shortage now. He, however, defended his stance, saying that his companies could eventually produce ventilators, but not "instantly".

Musk has been in the news for the 'insensitive' things he's had to say about the pandemic and the danger of it.

On Thursday, Musk also told the New York City mayor Bill de Blasio that they would connect to see what New York City's ventilator needs are: 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) noted on Wednesday that they were talking to a number of different countries, including China, to ramp up medical supplies that included ventilators.

The Reuters report added that General Motors and Ford were talking to the Trump administration to help produce medical equipment. GM and Ford are direct competitors for Tesla.

As of Thursday afternoon, there have been more than 230,000 reported cases of COVID-19 across the world.