• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

MassDevice

The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice

  • Latest News
  • Technologies
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Cardiovascular
    • Orthopedics
    • Neurological
    • Diabetes
    • Surgical Robotics
  • Business & Finance
    • Wall Street Beat
    • Earnings Reports
    • Funding Roundup
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Initial Public Offering (IPO)
    • Legal News
    • Personnel Moves
    • Medtech 100 Stock Index
  • Regulatory & Compliance
    • Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
    • Recalls
    • 510(k)
    • Pre-Market Approval (PMA)
    • MDSAP
    • Clinical Trials
  • Special Content
    • Special Reports
    • In-Depth Coverage
    • DeviceTalks
  • Podcasts
    • MassDevice Fast Five
    • DeviceTalks Weekly
    • OEM Talks
      • AbbottTalks
      • Boston ScientificTalks
      • DeviceTalks AI
      • IntuitiveTalks
      • MedtechWOMEN Talks
      • MedtronicTalks
      • Neuro Innovation Talks
      • Ortho Innovation Talks
      • Structural Heart Talks
      • StrykerTalks
  • Resources
    • About MassDevice
    • DeviceTalks
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Leadership in Medtech
    • Manufacturers & Suppliers Search
    • MedTech100 Index
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
Home » Elon Musk criticized for donating sleep apnea ventilators

Elon Musk criticized for donating sleep apnea ventilators

April 6, 2020 By Sean Whooley

Elon Musk launches Neuralink AI venture for connected brain implantsTesla co-founder & CEO Elon Musk is receiving criticism after the more than 1,000 ventilators he donated for COVID-19 relief were reportedly not the specific kind for use in intensive care units.

According to a report in the Financial Times,  among the 1,255 donated FDA-approved ventilators from ResMed (NYSE:RMD), Philips (NYSE:PHG) and Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) that were part of oversupply in China, were bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP) machines, commonly used for treating sleep apnea.

BPAP machines are reportedly sometimes called “non-invasive ventilators.” They’re not the same thing as the invasive ventilators used in intensive care units to deliver oxygen to the lungs as part of life support.

An American Society of Anesthesiologists guidance from February warned that BPAP machines are among the systems that “may increase the risk of infections transmission.” However, the FDA issued guidance on March 22 that included BPAP machines as possible alternatives to ventilators while addressing the shortage of devices.

“Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), auto-CPAP, and bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP or BPAP) machines typically used for treatment of sleep apnea (either in the home or facility setting) may be used to support patients with respiratory insufficiency provided appropriate monitoring (as available) and patient condition,” the FDA wrote.

Musk has received criticism, some of which is related to the questioned safety of the BPAP machines, while other shots have been taken at him for playing up his contribution of “ventilators” when the BPAP machines are different from the standard ventilator that hospitals are short on.

The entrepreneur has attempted to further his contribution by reopening Tesla’s New York production facility to manufacture medical devices instead of solar panels to assist Medtronic in ventilator production. He also defended himself regarding the BPAP machines on Twitter.

“All hospitals were given exact specifications of ResMed & Philips ventilators before delivery & all confirmed they would be critical,” Musk wrote on social media.

ResMed CEO Mick Farrell spoke on CNBC’s Mad Money yesterday, praising Musk for his donation and acknowledging that the machines were not the traditional ventilators, but the BPAP machines that have proved controversial.

“I think it’s great what Elon did,” Farrell said. “He went out and bought what I would call bi-level non-invasive ventilators from a platform of ours from five years ago from Asia and brought a thousand of them to New York.”

In an email. ResMed chief medical officer Dr. Carlos Nunez told MassDevice that Musk did not purchase the ventilators directly from the company, so it was not aware that Tesla had bought them.

Nunez said ResMed has seen an increased demand for ventilators and bilevel devices for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and the company is scaling up production to meet need in both cases. Nunez added that a large number of COVID-19 patients in China and Europe were treated with NIV and demand for NIV devices has increased in the U.S.

“As we continue to double or triple our output of these devices, we encourage any non-ventilation manufacturer willing to help to source or create more of these components, strengthening the supply chain that all ventilator makers are drawing from to help meet this rising global demand and save lives,” Nunez said.

Filed Under: Business/Financial News, Featured, Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Hospital Care, Regulatory/Compliance, Respiratory Tagged With: coronavirus, FDA, Medtronic, Philips, ResMed Inc., Tesla

More recent news

  • Ambu wins FDA clearance for first single-use cysto-nephroscope
  • Tandem Diabetes Care pairs t:slim X2 pump with Abbott FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus in U.S.
  • Ypsomed, CamDiab to integrate Abbott dual glucose-ketone sensor into automated insulin delivery system
  • Johnson & Johnson MedTech launches new Volt plating systems for radius, humerus
  • PharmaSens, SiBionics collab on all-in-one insulin patch pump

About Sean Whooley

Sean Whooley is an associate editor who mainly produces work for MassDevice, Medical Design & Outsourcing and Drug Delivery Business News. He received a bachelor's degree in multiplatform journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. You can connect with him on LinkedIn or email him at [email protected].

Primary Sidebar

“md
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest med device regulatory, business and technology news.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MEDTECH 100 Stock INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
MDO ad

Footer

MASSDEVICE MEDICAL NETWORK

DeviceTalks
Drug Delivery Business News
Medical Design & Outsourcing
Medical Tubing + Extrusion
Drug Discovery & Development
Pharmaceutical Processing World
MedTech 100 Index
R&D World
Medical Design Sourcing

DeviceTalks Webinars, Podcasts, & Discussions

Attend our Monthly Webinars
Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

MASSDEVICE

Subscribe to MassDevice E-Newsletter
Advertise with us
About
Contact us

Copyright © 2025 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy