Tesla Inc. engineers showed footage of a prototype ventilator the company is trying to make with auto parts amid a shortage of the machines for coronavirus patients.
According to the video on Tesla’s YouTube channel, the design includes a touch screen, computer and control system from a Model 3 electric car. Tesla is taking advantage of components that are familiar, reliable and available, an engineer says in the video.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, among those urgently trying to source more ventilators, said Sunday that supply-chain disruption is the biggest hurdle for every manufacturer, including Tesla.
“Their timeframe frankly doesn’t work for our immediate apex,“ he said at a press conference. “Nobody can make you a ventilator right now in two weeks. You can’t make ventilators that fast because there are parts that have to come from other countries.”
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