Guest “too fracking funny for words” by David Middleton

Remember this?

Elon Musk says he’ll have 1,200 ventilators ready to deliver this week
By Mike Wall – Space.com Senior Writer 15 days ago

Well, that was fast.

Last Wednesday (March 18), SpaceX and Tesla chief Elon Musk offered to start manufacturing ventilators for coronavirus patients if need be. Medical practitioners and politicians urged him to do so, stressing that many hospitals around the country will have a shortage of breathing machines as the pandemic progresses.

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Live Science

Well…

The “Ventilators” in Tesla’s Big Coronavirus Donation Were Actually BPAP Machines
The machines shown in a photo appear to be devices for treating sleep apnea.

John Bromels
Apr 2, 2020 at 4:38PM

Tesla‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk stunned the country on March 23 when he announced he had — as if by magic — procured 1,255 ventilators from China, and was shipping them to medical centers in the U.S. 

But according to a story first reported by the Financial Times, it seems that the “ventilators” Musk promised aren’t the type of ventilators that are most needed…and in fact aren’t usually called “ventilators” at all! They’re actually BPAP machines, typically used to treat sleep apnea.

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On Wednesday, a group called NYC Health + Hospitals tweeted a photo of their Tesla “ventilator” shipment, which clearly showed a BPAP machine, a type of non-invasive ventilator. Non-invasive ventilators like BPAP and CPAP machines push pressurized air into the lungs from outside the body. They aren’t life-support devices, and usually cost less than $1,000.

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The Motley Fool

I wear a CPAP. It works great on sleep apnea (snoring). I also have asthma. When my allergies are acting up and aggravating the asthma, I can’t wear the CPAP. A CPAP generally just covers your nose. A BiPAP or BPAP covers both the nose and mouth. A BPAP is probably better than nothing, but it appears that we no longer need just “better than nothing.”

Speaking of Tesla

Tesla to cut salaries, furlough workers as COVID-19 shutdowns expected to last until May 4
Kirsten Korosec 11:17 pm CDT • April 7, 2020

Tesla  will suspend production at its U.S. factories until at least May 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the company to cut pay for salaried employees between 10% and 30% and furlough workers, according to an internal email sent Tuesday night and viewed by TechCrunch.

Pay cuts for salaried employees — which ranges from 30% for vice presidents, 20% for director-level executives and 10% for the remaining workforce — is expected to be in place until the end of the second quarter, according to the email. The salary cuts and furloughs will begin April 13. Employees who cannot work from home and have not been assigned critical onsite positions will be furloughed until May 4, according to the email.

“While we are continuing to keep only minimum critical operations running, we expect to resume normal production at our U.S. facilities on May 4, barring any significant changes,” the email from Tesla’s human resources department head Valerie Workman. “Until that time, it is important we take action to ensure we remain on track to achieve our long-term plans.”

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TechCrunch

$20-30/bbl oil might actually be worse for Tesla than it is for oil companies, particularly those that have solid hedge positions. And it’s probably worse for them than ChiCom-19… Oil and gasoline will still be cheap on May4.