Tesla CEO Elon Musk blasted CNN for the liberal network’s report that claimed the entrepreneur failed to deliver ventilators he promised to give to California hospitals.
In a story on Wednesday, CNN quoted the California governor’s office, which said it had not heard of any hospital system in the state receiving any of the promised ventilators.
“Three weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he had obtained more than 1,000 ventilators to help California hospitals treating patients infected with the coronavirus, the governor’s office says none of the promised ventilators have been received by hospitals,” CNN’s verified Twitter account tweeted.
Musk said he wasn’t surprised by the report, but added in a post on Twitter, “What I find most surprising is that CNN still exists.”
What I find most surprising is that CNN still exists
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2020
The billionaire posted a “partial list of hospitals to which Tesla sent ventilators” as well.
Partial list of hospitals to which Tesla sent ventilators pic.twitter.com/sfI6yuUbrM
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2020
“These were based on direct requests from their ICU wards, with exact specifications of each unit provided before shipment,” Musk wrote.
Musk also posted a string of emails from March that appeared to show a Los Angeles County Department of Health Services official sending thanks after receiving the ventilators.
“They worked great during testing today,” wrote Phillip Franks, Director of System Operations and Support Services at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, one of the emails says. “We will put these to use tomorrow. Thanks!”
He included another email exchange from Mammoth Hospital in Mammoth Lakes, Ca., in which CEO Tom Parker also thanked Tesla for the ventilators.
“These ventilators will be quickly deployed in our hospital in anticipation of the coming wave of parents who will be suffering from the most severe effects of COVID-19,” Parker wrote, according to the screenshot of the email.
In another tweet, Musk said: “Not to mention Medtronic, who makes the most advanced ventilators in the world, also affirming our help!”
“I literally have the receipts!!” he wrote. “This is so dumb.”
Musk also tagged California Gov. Gavin Newsom in one of the posts, requesting him to “please fix this misunderstanding.”
Back in March, Newsom said Musk had already made good on his promise to deliver ventilators. “I told you a few days ago that he was likely to have 1,000 ventilators this week,” Newsom said at a press conference, adding the ventilators arrived in Los Angeles and that Musk was working with the hospital association to get the equipment out, Fox News reported. “It was a heroic effort.”
CNN executive Matt Dornic responded to Musk’s tweet, “Weird to attack CNN for what the CA governor’s office said – especially when your own spokespeople at Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment. Seems like your outrage should, uh, be directed at the entity that made the claim, not the one that reported it. U new to this?”
Weird to attack CNN for what the CA governor’s office said – especially when your own spokespeople at Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment. Seems like your outrage should, uh, be directed at the entity that made the claim, not the one that reported it. U new to this?
— Matt Dornic (@mdornic) April 16, 2020
Said Fox: “CNN’s story featured a statement from the California governor’s Office of Emergency Services that said, ‘Musk and his team told the state that he had procured ventilators and wanted to distribute them directly to hospitals with shortages. The Administration is communicating every day with hospitals across the state about their ventilator supply and to date we have not heard of any hospital system that has received a ventilator directly from Tesla or Musk.'”
Musk responded to the CNN executive, “Perhaps you are unaware that Twitter has a search function? The hospitals *themselves* acknowledged receipt of ventilators.”