Tuesday Tweets -- Dr. Elon will see you now

I have to admit it took me a while to realize to what degree Elon Musk learned his lines phonetically. In my defense, it was more difficult t tell at first. Musk would say lots of smart, technically savvy things then throw in something stupid, but lots of intelligent people have sudden dips when they wander out of their areas of expertise. It wasn't until Musk started routinely started going off script that it became clear he had no real understanding of anything scientific or technical. The illusion of comprehension was only maintained while he was repeating what the genuinely sharp engineers at SpaceX and Tesla had told him to say.

When he has to rely on Google, it doesn't work quite as well.

The latest example started when Musk, under fire for keeping his Tesla plant open during the pandemic, insisted he could make all the ventilators our ICUs need. Normally these promises are quickly forgotten but people kept bringing this one up, particularly when...

The first ventilators that were produced by General Motors and Ventec Life Systems are being delivered to hospitals in the Chicago area, per General Motors. The hospitals were chosen by FEMA.

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 17, 2020

So the promise to build was quietly changed to a promise to provide.

We have extra FDA-approved ventilators. Will ship to hospitals worldwide within Tesla delivery regions. Device & shipping cost are free. Only requirement is that the vents are needed immediately for patients, not stored in a warehouse. Please me or @Tesla know.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 31, 2020

And then the definition of "ventilator" was broadened.

California hospitals say Elon Musk sent them biPAP, CPAP machines, not ventilators | TheHill https://t.co/8kBh7Z5XEj

— Russ Mitchell (@russ1mitchell) April 17, 2020




Hey, I just wanted to weigh in to say that CNN reporters (including me) have reached out to Tesla multiple times to ask about ventilators over the past several weeks, and we never got a response. This latest story reports what Gov. Newsom said.https://t.co/wsVkc3w0W4

— Jackie Wattles (@jackiewattles) April 16, 2020

Happy #ElonMuskDay everyone! To celebrate, I'm going to donate these ventilators to my local hospital pic.twitter.com/ZaVBPbbr2b

— Rebecca Watson (@rebeccawatson) April 20, 2020

  Musk responded with the full force of his expertise.

Tesla actually sent out ResMed, Philips & Medtronic units. Latter is fully intratracheal. My personal opinion is that some ICUs are jumping the gun on intubation & setting PEEP & O2 too high. High pressure, pure oxygen increases risk of lung damage. pic.twitter.com/2IUnS5DPOg

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2020

Hi @elonmusk. Appreciate your interest!
What do you mean by "lung strength"? Diaphragm TF? Pocc? P0.1? Compliance?
What do you mean by "natural lung pressure"? PEEP? PEEPi? Pmus? Elastance? Chest wall or lung?
Not familiar with your terms.

COI: Anesthesiologist and Intensivist

— Vatsal Trivedi (@VatsalTrivediMD) April 17, 2020

At which point, Elon Musk abruptly left the conversation.

He deleted but I got the receipt lol pic.twitter.com/C4HzmPOSd4

— Castles 666 (@McNukes) April 18, 2020

But the conversation did not leave him.

Here's a hint for @elonmusk. If you don't want to go "much above their natural lung pressure," this is your only option. By definition, positive pressure ventilation is well above "natural lung pressure.”🤦🏻‍♂️ https://t.co/5sDMqhavkX https://t.co/UWegvnhCst

— David Gorski, MD, PhD (@gorskon) April 18, 2020

Surprising how social distancing makes for strange bedfellows. In 2020, Bill Kristol is voting Democratic and I'm retweeting a New York Post columnist. https://t.co/BYLj8rWDon

— Mark Palko (@MarkPalko1) April 18, 2020